Chicken Soup 4 My Broken Soul
by marieXcullen
Summary: Every one of her birthdays has brought nothing but bad luck to Bella . . . Until now. Her luck quickly changes when she falls for two guys; her English teacher Mr. Novak and the new guy in school Emmet McCarty. Just how much can Bella handle?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but the plot :)

I hope you enjoy the story!

Every one of her birthdays has brought nothing but bad luck to Bella . . . Until now. Her luck quickly changes when she falls for two guys; her English teacher Mr. Novak and the new guy in school Emmet McCarty. Just how much can Bella handle?

_Chicken Soup for My Broken Heart_

The shrill ringing of the freaking alarm clock yanked me out of my dream. Just great, another day of this hell I call my life has begun. I dragged my tired ass out of bed and practically crawled across the hall to our work out room. Don't ask why I have a gym in my home; it will only lead to unnecessary explanations.

After running on the treadmill for 45 minutes, I hit the showers. You see, every year, on this very day (for the past five years), I want nothing more than to purchase a gun and blow my brains out. Of course since I'm too chicken shit to actually put a gun to my head, I forgo all thoughts of suicide and settle for sulking instead.

Today is September thirteenth…My birthday…The worst day of the year. I hate my birthday because all it ever brings is disappointment. By the time my thirteenth birthday arrived, my dad Phil had broken my mother's heart and abandoned us. My dog Charlie ran away on my fourteenth birthday. When my fifteenth birthday (freshman year) rolled around, I had become antisocial and friendless, not to mention I decided I totally had the hots for Mr. Novak; a junior English teacher on campus (who by the way was way out of my league).

I was officially the town freak. To make matters worse, my fish Renée died on my sixteenth birthday. My bedroom window was struck by lightning and my curtains caught on fire on my seventeenth birthday. Every year I promise myself to finally grow a pair and make a move on Mr. Novak, but I end up chickening out because of my bad luck. I don't even want to find out what will happen to me today. Whatever happens, hopefully it will be quick and painless. So now you know why I hate my birthdays, they bring me nothing but anger and disaster.

After my cold shower, I wrapped a towel around my body and went down to the kitchen. "You look angrier than usual this morning." Caroline said with one of her creepy smiles. Let's just pause here for a second; Caroline is my mother and she highly disapproves of everything in my life. Here's the beginning of her complaints: 1.) She hates that my fashion sense isn't up to her standards.

It would be a dream come true for her if I dressed "pretty" or "girly" or wore clothes that according to her, "compliment my nice figure." I like my torn up jeans, dark t-shirts and tattered shoes. I love my clothes just the way they are. 2.) She "highly dislikes" the fact that I don't attempt to make friends.

I don't bother getting to know people because they're all the same in my eyes. Every person in Forks is judgmental; I've yet to come across one of my peers that isn't. Because I wear different clothes and listen to different music, they see me as an outsider. I'm no fucking alien and I shouldn't be treated like one.

3.) Above all, Caroline hates the fact that I refuse to date. She's constantly offering to set me up with guys. The very first time she offered, I didn't know any better, so I accepted and went along with it. Big mistake…no **HUGE** mistake. The date was awful.

Not only we had nothing in common, but to make matters worse, he made it clear that I wasn't his type and the only reason he didn't take off running was because he didn't want my mother to think he was rude. After all, Caroline was friends with his mother. When that incident passed, I didn't attempt dating again.

A few guys from school asked me from time to time as some sort of joke and I of course always said no. I probably still would have said no, even if they had been serious. Okay so back to the present tense. Caroline and I clearly have our differences. I glared at her for her comment and she rolled her eyes.

"I just don't get why you're always angry. No one does anything to you." She said as I tried to ignore her.

"Trust me, I don't get pissed all on my own." I snapped at her.

"Then who's got you so angry all the time?" Her eyebrows furrowed. I said nothing and walked past her. "Bella! Who's making you so angry?" She asked again.

"You are!" I yelled. "You and every other fucking person in this town that looks at me and sees an alien! You and everyone that judges me when they don't even know me!" I had finally lost it. The pressure was too much and I exploded.

"Honey, no one is judging you." She said. Her attempt to soothe me only pushed me further over the edge.  
"That's bull-fucking-shit and you know it!" This is the angriest I've been in a long time. "You would be ecstatic if I dressed how you liked or if I got popular and became a fucking cheerleader just like you were. You'd love it if I changed and got a boyfriend. You and everyone that comes across me see me as a freak and I hate it! You don't know what I have to go through! You don't know the shit I have to put up with every fucking day of my life!" I screamed and slammed the fridge shut.

I originally came down to get breakfast but now I lost my appetite. I went back to my room and locked the door. I pulled on a pair of black jeans full of holes and my black "You say Tomato, I say Fuck You" t-shirt. After slapping some gel into my hair and straightening my bangs, I put on my black chucks and a few rainbow rave bracelets. I checked myself in the mirror for a quick second then tossed my phone into my bag and grabbed my keys.

I took my bag and headed down. Caroline was still in the kitchen when I came back down. "Bella I know how you feel. I-" She began to say but I cut her off.

"No. You don't know how I feel. You don't get me at all. You never have and you probably never will. Just be glad that I'm a good person and that I get good grades. Quit trying to change me into someone I'm not! You hardly know me!" I said and went outside.

I felt terrible for going off on Caroline like that. It's not her fault that I'm always pissed. . . well, it's sometimes not her fault. Out on the driveway—where my rusty pickup truck should have been— was a Red Camero with a giant white bow and a card on it. I looked around but my rusty red pickup truck was nowhere to be seen. I opened the card and read it. "Happy Birthday Baby! You're all grown up now. I love you –Mom." It read.

I snatched the bow off the car and threw it on the ground then proceeded to stomp all over in rage. I then threw my bag down and sat against the garage door. I cried and slammed my fists into the pavement repeatedly. She remembered my birthday and bought me the car I'd been saving up for and I was a total bitch. I take my anger and frustration out on her quite often and she still buys me a car; a very nice car. I feel like the biggest ass in the world.

I got up and ran back into the house. She hugged me the second I walked through the door. "I'm so sorry. I've been pissed since you and that bastard split and I've been blaming you for all my issues. I found it so much easier to deal with things by being pissed at you." I wailed like a big baby. She kissed the top my head.

"I love you and nothing will ever change that." She said.

"I know I act and dress different than most people in this town, but I love you too mom and I don't want you to think I'm a freak."

"You may be weird, but you're my weirdo." She said and kissed my head again then smiled and wiped my tears away.

"Thanks for the car. I love it."

"Happy Birthday baby." She said and gave me the keys. "Now hurry up or you'll be late for school." I hugged her and took the keys. Once outside, I picked my bad up off the floor and got in the car. The engine purred to life when I turned the key. It's so quiet it's almost creepy.

I sped to school with a smile on my face. If today went on without any usual birthday incidents, I might actually be happy for a change. Not fighting with Caroline felt good (although I'm sure the peace won't last for long, I'll try to make it last). For the first time in a while things might actually go right. Yeah right, I'll keep my fingers crossed.

I pulled into my usual parking space and got out. Just about everyone in the lot was looking my way, but that was nothing new. They stare at me every day, only today, the looks I got were somewhat envious. I guess they're surprised that I have a nice car. Caroline has tons of money, but I don't go flaunting it around. Despite the fact that Caroline is practically loaded, I try and work for my money, even though I can never hold a job for more than two months. I don't like to be told what to do and there's only so much an employer will take before giving me the boot.

I liked knowing that the stares I got were full of envy and not of judgment. A small group walked by and eyed my car. I didn't even try to hide the grin that spread across my face. "How'd you score this?" A snobby girl asked. I stared at her for a long time, then shrugged slowly. Her eyes narrowed and she walked off.

"Freak." She huffed under her breath as she went.

"Slut!" I said after her. Looks like today would be a bad day. I hate getting into arguments at school, but I hate taking people's shit even more.

"What?" She said angrily and whipped around.

"S-L-U-T. I hope you can spell." I said with a smirk.

"No wonder you have no friends. You're such a bitch." She hissed.

"Fuck you. I choose not to have friends. You and half the girls here are sluts, so I don't want, nor do I need your friendship." I said and turned away from her. I didn't need this bitch's attitude.

She stomped off and I leaned against the car to kill some time. A shiny blood red Ducati sped into the parking lot and parked a few spaces down from me. From the rider's form, I could tell it was a guy; a very fit, muscular guy. He got off his bike and pulled off his helmet. He had short light brown hair, a cute boyish, yet manly face with high cheekbones, and judging from the way his shirt clung tightly to his body, he had abs to kill for.

As he got closer, I noticed he had a faint trail of freckles dusted across his cheeks. His eyes were a brilliant light blue and god his lips were sexy; full, plump and pink. He smiled and nodded in my direction as he put on his jacket and walked towards the main office. He must be new, because I've never seen his gorgeous face around here. I could smell his cologne even after he was gone. I think I just found the love of my life. *Swoon*

I quickly locked the car and went off to my first class. People were shocked that I had the audacity to wear the shirt I had on (you say tomato, I say fuck you shirt). I ignored the stares and went to English. I liked to get there just a few minutes before the bell rang so I could get a decent seat or a better view of Mr. Novak, whatever floats your boat. I was a bit earlier than usual, so I turned in the essay that was assigned on Friday and sat in the corner to read.

"Good morning Ms. Swan." I jumped at the sound of Mr. Novak's voice.

"Hey." I said, my heart still racing.

"I apologize. I hadn't meant to startle you." He said with a bright smile. Mr. Novak was a nice guy. I had a crush on him since freshman year (I mentioned that in my rant this morning). He's sexy in the "hot for an older guy" way, despite being only 26. His beautiful green eyes always held a seductive spark in them and no one could resist the force of his killer smile or his beautiful childlike dimples. (Sex on legs! Am I right or am I right?). He's the only teacher that gets me. He's not like the others so we can relate to lots of things.

"Happy Birthday." He said and went to his desk to get papers ready for class. I'm not even going to dwell on how he knows it's my birthday.

"Thanks." I said dully.

"Why aren't you excited? You're 18, you're finally of legal age to party your own way!" He said with a kind smile. I know he meant well but his happy demeanor did nothing to help me; all it did was drive my hormones into overdrive.

"I hate my birthday; it's honestly the crappiest day of the year for me." I said.

"Why is that?" He asked, coming over to sit on the corner of my desk. My heart rate picked up and I looked around to avoid meeting his gaze.

"Something terrible always happens on my birthday." I said, looking down at my hands.

"Is that your theory?" He asked.

"Yes, it is." I replied truthfully.

"What if we did something fun to prove your theory wrong?" He asked.

"Like?" I tried not to get my hopes up. He's my teacher and the only thing he can do to make my birthday better would get him fired and most likely land him in jail.

"I don't know. Is there something you want to do?" He asked innocently enough. God, I hope there's a double meaning behind those words.

"No." I said flatly, killing my hopes before they rose too high.

"Are you sure there's nothing I can give you?"

A whole lot of Birthday Sex is what you can give me, I thought to myself. "You don't have to try and make this day better." I said.

"I want to." He said with a friendly smile.

"I don't need your pity." I said harshly. Mr. Novak sighed and went back to his desk. I felt bad for lashing out and thought about apologizing. I was too chicken, so I looked down and continued reading till the bell rang and students poured in. Another essay was assigned and we were given class time to work on it. I think Novak assigns so many essays because he enjoys reading what I have to say . . . And I'm not just saying that because I'm a damn good writer.

"Oh, I love what you did with your hair." The girl next to me said. Alice Cullen. She's a really pretty girl. She's popular; just about everyone knows her. Unlike me her popularity is a "god she's pretty" kind of popularity, where as mine is a "beware of the freak" kind of popularity. She talked to me every once in a while, but I'm not really all that into conversing with my peers.

"Me?" I asked dumbly.

"Of course you, silly. I love the colors you put in it. Did you use gel or wax to spike your hair up like that?" she asked. I had put pink and purple dye in my hair over the weekend.

"Gel. It holds better for my kind of hair." I replied and turned back to my essay.

"I'm Alice." She said and held her hand out.

"Bella." I said and looked at her hand.

"Come on, I don't bite." She said and I reached over to shake her hand. She sensed that I wasn't going to say much and left me alone. I was the first one to finish, as always. I tried to turn in my paper without drawing Mr. Novak's attention.

"Happy Birthday." He said in a low tone as soon as I reached his desk. He opened the top drawer of his desk and pulled out a small light pink gift bag. He set the bag on the desk and gently pushed it towards me.

"I didn't mean to lash out the way I did. I put up a wall when people get too close." I said in a nearly inaudible whisper. He flashed me a smile and nudged the bag. I turned around to see if anyone was looking at us. I didn't want rumors starting and ruining his name simply because he cared enough to get me something on my birthday. People were talking and doing their own thing so no one was even looking our way.

"Thanks. You didn't have to." I said sheepishly.

"Well, I did. Despite your filthy mouth and complete disregard for your peers' feelings, you're a brilliant student and a kind girl when given the chance." He said, making my hear sink a little. It was nice that he though this of me, but it only proved that he saw me as a young woman; his student, not a woman he could see himself with.

I may not have his heart, but I do have his respect, and I plan on keeping it. "Thanks."

"You're brilliant, I hope you can see that." He said with a smile. "Now accept your gift and go back to your seat." He said in a stern tone. I would have taken him seriously, had he not broken into a smile. I smiled at him and took the gift to my seat.

"Awww, it's your birthday?" Alice asked. She's observant . . . I hope she doesn't make too big of a deal about getting a gift from Mr. Novak. "Well Happy Birthday Bella!" She nearly yelled and clapped her hands.

"Shhh!" I shushed and she giggled. "Don't say it so loud."

She rolled her eyes. "We should hang out some time. You can help me dye my hair." She said excitedly. I didn't want to be rude and say no so I just nodded.

The bell rang and boy was I glad. She smiled and went off to her next class. I put the gift bag in my backpack and thanked Mr. Novak again before walking out. "Nice shirt!" He called after me as I rushed to my locker. I dropped off some stuff, then ran to my next class.

Calculus and Spanish dragged on, and I couldn't be happier when the lunch bell rang. School has been in session less than 4 hours and already, there was gossip about the new guy circulating. Poor guy, people are already spreading rumors about him. He was being dragged left and right and got caught in between the crossfire when people began to fight over who gets to sit next to him.

I took my usual seat at the furthest corner of the cafeteria (away from all the morons and airheads). After dropping my bag and pulling out my lunch, I grabbed a magazine, along with a permanent marker from my bag. I always have a magazine, just in case I get bored. I usually flip through magazines and fix all the wrong crap. And by fix, I mean cross out everything I don't like and write in my own comments on every picture. I would then take the magazine to a random store and drop it in with the other magazines. Some poor sap would end up purchasing it by accident.

I was eating my sandwich and reading an article on lady gaga when I felt someone kick my chair. I frowned and looked up. The hot new guy. "Mind if I sit here?" He asked and looked down at the chair where I had my feet propped. I shrugged and went back to my article. If it were anyone else, I would have flat out said no.

"Shrugging isn't an answer, so I'll just assume you meant yes." He said and set his tray on the table. I dropped my feet to the floor and he took a seat. "You can put your feet back up if that makes you more comfortable." He said and motioned to his leg.

"Why are you sitting here?" I asked.

"Does it bother you that I chose to sit here?" He asked, ignoring my question.

"You didn't answer my question." I stated.

"And you didn't answer mine." He said and began to eat his food.

"Yes, it bothers me very much." I answered his question after a few minutes of silence. See I can't be nice to him just because he's hot; for all I know, he's just like the rest of the assholes in this town.

"Why?" He asked with a smile that made my heart stutter.

"Because you could be sitting with anyone you want, and yet you choose to come sit here." I said. He thought things over for a bit, then went back to his food. When he said nothing for a while, I went back to reading the article on lady gaga.

He took me by surprise when he grabbed my feet and propped them up on his leg. "Maybe I sat here because I wanted to befriend you." He said and leaned back in his chair.

"Why the hell would you want that?" I asked and he shrugged.

"Why the hell not?" He asked.

"You want the truth?" I asked and he nodded eagerly.

"Be brutally honest." He said with a grin.

"If I had a list of all the people I could never be friends with, you would be somewhere near the top of that list." I said, but his grin didn't falter.

"And why is that?" He continued smirking.

"We're complete opposites." His smile got impossibly bigger when I said that.

"Well, haven't you ever heard? Opposites attract." A good feeling washed over me when the words left his lips.

"You are big and muscular, I am slim and petite. You are both good looking and the popular type, I am neither of those. You seem spontaneous and full of life, I wouldn't exactly say I'm full of life and I'm most definitely not spontaneous. How exactly do you see us being friends?" I babbled.

"One: I don't mind that you're smaller than me, most people are, two: It's you whose popular; I don't think there's a single person in this school that doesn't know who you are, three: You're one of the prettiest girls I've ever met, four: putting crazy colors in your hair seems like a pretty spontaneous thing to do, and five: anyone alive is full of life." And just like that, he became one of my favorite people. I also didn't miss the fact that he called me pretty; it was nice to hear, even if it wasn't true.

"You're not so bad." I said and went back to my lunch and magazine. "What class do you have next?" I asked curiously.

"I haven't been assigned any classes yet. I've been testing all morning and I don't get my schedule till tomorrow morning—after they have my results." He said.

I was about to respond when I heard very nasal voice. "Hey there, you must be new to Forks." The girl was clearly talking to the new guy. I looked up and growled involuntarily; it was the bitch I yelled at this morning. The new guy chuckled and nodded.

"Yep." He said with a friendly smile.

"You can come sit with me and my friends. You're not obligated to sit with . . ._her_." She said and wrinkled her nose as if she smelt something foul.

"Listen bitch—" I began before being rudely cut off.

"No you listen freak, just the sight of you makes me feel unsanitary. I feel the need to clean myself every time I see you." She said nasally.

"How about I shove my foot up your ass! How's that for sanitary?" I growled, getting ready to put a dent in her face. The new guy chuckled quietly.

"You've got a lot of nerve Swan. Your freakiness will last forever." She said eyeing me coldly.

"Yeah? Well so will your Herpes Bitch!" I yelled.

"Ladies, can't we all be friends?" The new guy said with a smile.

"Like I'd be caught dead with that freak!" The girl shrieked dramatically.

"Drop dead and go fuck yourself!" I said. Water sprayed out of the new guy's mouth and nose, effectively wetting the bitch. He laughed like a lunatic before wiping his mouth clean.

"I apologize. That was rude and disgusting." He said offering the girl a napkin. She took the napkin and left without another word. The bell rang so I put my stuff away and threw out my trash. The new guy stood and watched me for a few seconds.

"I'm Emmett." He said. I opened my mouth to say my name but he beat me to it. "Bella, I know." He said with a cute grin.

I gave him a questioning look and he laughed. "I'm no stalker, I asked around." He said.

"Anything else you know about me that I haven't old you?" I asked with playful frown.

"Yeah. You swear like a sailor. Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?" He asked and chuckled. I smiled and went to class without another word. My last three classes went by slowly. I was more than excited when the final bell rang, signaling the end of the school day.

My finger was still bleeding from pricking it in biology, so I went to the bathroom to take care of it. I stepped into a stall to get toilet paper to wipe away the blood. The bathroom door opened and closed.

"Ugh, I know. I can't believe he sat with her." A girl's voice said.

"What does he see in that freak? She's insane and has no fashion sense whatsoever." Another voice threw in. I walked out of the stall and washed my hands.

"Slut isn't a fashion sense." I glared at one girl. "Bitch isn't either." I said and turned my glare to the other girl. I walked out and went to the parking lot. A small group of guys were huddled by my car and Mike Newton was practically feeling up my baby.

"Michael, get your hands off the car or the next time you make physical contact with a Camero will be when I hit you with mine." I said and threw my bag in the passenger seat.

"How much was it?" Mike asked.

"I don't know."

"Where'd you buy it?" Tyler asked.

"I didn't buy it." I said, getting annoyed.

"Well then where'd you get—" Someone else began to ask.

"I stole it alright?" I yelled. Every face was shocked at my answer; good. I got in the car and sped home. Those idiots will believe anything they hear.

As usual, when I got home, the house was empty. Caroline leaves for work just as I leave for school and doesn't get home till late at night; usually when I'm already asleep. I went to the fridge and grabbed a soda, that's when I was hit with a brilliant idea.

* * *

Well here's the 1st chapter . . . Review and tell me what you think :)


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Sorry for not updating sooner, my research paper, the SATs and finals are killing me. Anyway, here's the next chapter. Don't hate me by the end :)

**Last chap Recap:**As usual, when I got home, the house was empty. Caroline leaves for work just as I leave for school and doesn't get home till late at night; usually when I'm already asleep. I went to the fridge and grabbed a soda, that's when I was hit with a brilliant idea.

I quickly ran upstairs and grabbed my backpack and pulled out the pink gift bag from Mr. Novak. I reached into it and pulled out a white, average sized box. I was left speechless when I pulled off the lid. Inside the box lay the most beautiful white gold bracelet. I gently removed the bracelet from the box and examined it with care. I was pretty shocked to see an inscription on the inside. "You're a brilliant Individual and I believe in you" was engraved in elegant script. My eyes immediately teared up. If it's at all possible, I think I've fallen more in love with Mr. Novak. I put the bracelet on my right wrist and yanked my pants off to change into shorts.

I put on my black combat boots and went back downstairs. After writing Caroline a note saying I'd be home late, I grabbed my bag and walked back to school to see Novak. I would take my car but I don't want to risk anyone knowing I stayed after school; don't want to get Novak in trouble. My nerves went crazy when I reached the door to his classroom. I took a deep breath to calm myself, then softly knocked on the door. I decided to turn and leave since he probably didn't hear the knock, but the door opened just as I turned to leave.

"Bella, what are you still doing here?" Novak's seductive voice asked.

"The usual." I said casually.

"Not many students hang around after school . . . not counting the athletes."

Good, I thought to myself. "I wanted to say thanks for the gift." I said and held out my right hand to show him I had it on. "It looks really expensive."

"Don't worry about it."

"I love it." I said, my voice involuntarily dropping to a whisper. My face must have fallen without my knowledge.

"Hey, are you alright?" He asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Can I hang out in here for a bit? I can help you grade shit or something." I offered and he chuckled.

"Well, I don't have _shit_, as you put it, to grade but you can stay here as long as you'd like." He said with a charming smile. I like hearing him say bad words . . . I'll have to get him to swear more often; that'll be my personal mission. I got brave and went over to sit in his seat.

"You think you can just waltz in here and get comfortable in my chair?" He asked and frowned playfully.

"Yes I do." I said and put my feet up on his desk to make a point. For a few seconds, I thought I caught him staring at my legs, but I wasn't sure because it was so brief. He walked over and picked me up; my heart nearly exploded with joy. He then walked over to an empty desk and sat me down.

"You stay here and read." He said and went to his desk. "And I'll stay here and read." He said and plopped into his seat. I smiled and pulled out my magazine and a sharpie. We sat and read in silence for an hour or so; each too caught up in our reading to keep track of time. When my stomach growled he chuckled and looked up at me. "Someone's hungry." He announced a little too cheerfully and I blushed a little.

"Yeah, I should probably get out of here and eat." I said and stuffed the magazine in my bag. He too put his stuff away and picked up his bag. We walked out to the parking lot in silence and I was surprised to see the sun was still out; it felt as if we'd been in that room forever. I looked at my phone to check the time; only ten to five. Wow. "Can I bum a ride?" I asked, hoping he wouldn't say no.

"Uh, sure." He said, seeming to have been caught off guard. I followed him to his car in silence. I was a bit shocked to see the car he was sporting; a mustang GT.

"You didn't strike me as a mustang type of guy." I said with a snicker.

"What am I too old or something?" He asked as he opened the passenger side door for me.

"Not at all. 26 isn't too bad." I responded and got in.

"So you don't think I'm old?" He closed the door, threw his bag in the backseat and started the car.

"Of course not. You're older but not old. It's a good thing; older is good." I said, looking out the window so he wouldn't see me blush.

"Alright, which way to your house?" he asked and pulled out of the parking lot.

"Take a right on the next street." I mumbled. His stomach growled and I got an idea. "On second thought, take a left, we're not heading to my house." I said and he gave me a puzzled look. "You're hungry aren't you?" That seemed to be enough for him.

He nodded. "A little."

"Good, then follow my directions and you'll have the best meal of your life." I said and he rolled his eyes.

"I highly doubt that." I led the way to Ribs, my favorite restaurant. We went in and got a booth in the back.

"Are you ready to order?" The waitress asked and Novak looked at me.

"Two orders of ribs and two steaks with fries and extra ranch on the side." I said and the waitress left.

"I take it you've been here before." Novak said, putting his hands together and resting them on the table.

"Yup, this is my hangout." I smiled. "What's your first name?" I asked when I realized I didn't know it.

"Daniel." He said, watching for my reaction. Daniel, Dan, Danny. I like it.

"Daniel Novak; cute name, it suits you well." I blurted out before I could stop myself. Note to self: check brain filter. He rolled his eyes; his beautiful green eyes.

"Sure."

"Does anyone call you Danny?"

He wrinkled his nose. "Not to my face."

"Why not?"

"I don't like it. I'd rather go by Daniel."

"Make an exception for me." Again, no brain filter.

"No."

"Why not?"

"I just said I hated being called Danny, why would I make an exception?" He asked, wrinkling his nose in that cute childish way again.

"I'll be your best friend." I offered, teasingly batting my lashes. Before he could answer, the waitress returned with our food and we dug in. I completely pigged out on my ribs, as I usually do.

"You have sauce all over your face." He said, making a face.

"And you don't have enough shit on your face." I said and continued eating. As you can tell, I'm not one for using forks and napkins.

"You swear a lot for a girl." He said and wiped his mouth.

I scoffed. "I'm 18."

"Alright, you swear a lot for a young woman."

"That's sexist; are you saying I shouldn't swear _because_ I'm a girl?" I didn't give him time to answer. It sets me apart. Do you swear when you're not in school?"

He rolled his eyes. "No."

"You're lying, I bet you swear like a sailor."

He laughed a little. "I occasionally drop a few curse words here and there, but I don't swear much . . . for the most part." He answered.

"Don't worry, I'll change that." I said, attacking my steak. The second we finished eating, I called the waitress over. Before he could even reach for his wallet, I had paid and tipped the waitress generously. I hate people who give cheap tips to good waiters and waitresses.

"Why'd you do that?" He asked as we went back to his car.

"Do what?"

"Pay."

"Because I suggested we come here."

"You should have let me get it." He grumbled. I gave him the directions to my house and he dropped me off. Was he seriously pissed because I didn't let him pay? Men.

"Look at it this way, you got me an expensive bracelet and I covered a meal. Can we call it even?"

"Sure."

"See you tomorrow."

"Goodnight Bella." I love the way my name rolled off his tongue. He didn't drive away till I opened the door and walked in. Caroline still wasn't home so I threw away the note I had written and went upstairs to do my homework. I later turned on the tv and eventually fell asleep.

When my alarm went off, I jumped out of bed and rushed through my morning routine. So, as you can tell I'm eager to get to school today. After pulling on my "Yup, I'm a rebel" t-shirt, I ran down the stairs and made myself a bowl of cereal.

"Someone's happy this morning." Caroline announced when she walked into the kitchen.

"Yeah, I had a good day yesterday."

"What happened?" She asked with a suspicious look.

"A guy . . .he's a breath of fresh air. It also doesn't hurt that he's sexy." I said, not knowing whether I was referring to Emmett or Daniel. Wow, I went from calling him Novak to Daniel in less than 24 hours; I really need to calm down. Caroline smiled and sipped her coffee. I set my bowl in the sink and grabbed my bag.

"Bye mom." I called over my shoulder as I ran out to my car. Snow! Great just what I need. "Someone shoot me." I grumbled and got in the car. The parking lot was only half full when I arrived; good. I ran to my locker to grab a few things then went to Novak's class. The room was empty so I put my stuff down and sat in his chair. His laptop was on so I went through a few of his emails.

"Are you enjoying invading my privacy?" Novak's voice startled me. Ok calm down and play this cool.

"Hey there Danny boy." He frowned.

"So I go by Danny now?" He asked and sat at the edge of his desk.

"Yeah. I figured we're friends now so I might as well give you a nickname." I smiled and his frown deepened.

"And it had to be Danny?"

"I like Danny . . . it's better than Daniel. Daniel sounds so old and boring."

"No it doesn't. Since when are we friends?"

"Yesterday. I don't take just anyone to Ribs you know."

"Sure."

"Are you married?" I asked out of nowhere.

"No. I enjoy being single, why do you ask?"

Because I want to know if it's alright to attack you and have hot, wild sex on your desk, I wanted to say but settled for "Just asking, you don't seem like the married type so I had to know." He nodded.

"Have you figured out what college you're going to?" He quickly changed the subject.

"Nope." I answered, kind of aggravated that he changed the subject.

"Is this Mr. Novak's room?" I looked over and Emmett was standing in the doorway looking a little bit confused and a little flushed. His hair was a little disheveled and wet from the snow and his cheeks were kind of rosy from the cold. The snow brings out something in him. I might like the snow after all.

"Yes it is. You must be the transfer student; Emmett right?" Novak asked and extended his hand to shake Emmett's.

"Nice to meet you." Emmett said politely. "Where can I sit?"

"You can sit anywhere, I don't assign seats. The bell should ring soon." Novak said with a generous smile. Emmett nodded and put his bag on the desk behind mine. He looked in my direction and smiled.

"It's nice to see you again." He said and I felt my face warm up.

"Ditto." I said and turned my attention back to Novak's computer.

"So I hear you steal cars." Emmett said with a chuckle. At first I was confused as to what he was talking about, but then I remembered I had told Mike and his friends that I had stolen my car.

"Oh yeah? Where'd you hear that?" I decided to play stupid.

"A little bird told me." He said with a grin. The bell rang before I had the chance to answer him. I got up and Novak took his seat back.

"Gross, my chair is all warm." Novak said and shifted. I glared at him before going to my desk to sit down. People filed in and Novak collected the essays and talked about extra credit opportunities for people falling behind. I began to daydream until I felt something sharp poke me in the back.

I turned around and glared at Emmett. "What the fuck?" I hissed and he smiled innocently. "What do you want?" I asked, trying to keep from smiling.

"Happy belated birthday." He said with a grin that melted away my annoyance.

"Thanks." I said, wondering how he knew.

"Stop talking." Novak said, tapping my desk. I shot him a glare but he paid me no mind and continued on with the lesson. Emmett tossed a folded up piece of paper on my desk and I eagerly unfolded it. 'Lunch?' it said. 'What about lunch?' I scribbled and tossed it back. A few seconds went by before the paper was back on my desk. 'Want to eat off campus?' I smiled and scribbled my response. 'We're not allowed to leave campus for lunch.' I threw the paper to him after folding it. This time, a few minutes went by before I got the paper back. 'What kind of rebel steals cars but can't go off campus to eat?' I laughed quietly then picked up my pencil to write back. Novak grabbed the note and tossed it in the trash.

"Quit passing note and pay attention." He said with a semi cold look and continued the lesson. What's his problem? "Grab your textbooks and turn to page 364. Get into small groups of three and read. When you finish the reading, discuss the questions on pg 377, I might quiz you on it tomorrow." Novak said then went to his desk to grade the essays. When I caught his eye, he gave me a cold look. Was passing notes such a big deal?

"Can I read with you guys?" Alice Cullen asked.

"Sure." Emmett responded quickly. We moved our desks and pushed them together to make reading easier.

"How'd you know my birthday was yesterday?" I questioned Emmett and he gave Alice a nervous look.

"You told him?" I asked, a bit agitated.

"Guilty as charged." She chirped brightly. I gave her a slight glare then sat down.

"Get over it, it's not like I meant to; we were talking about birthdays and it slipped out." She said, giving me a glare of her own. We read quickly and didn't bother to look at the questions we were supposed to discuss.

"You didn't answer me about lunch." Emmett said, tapping his pencil on the desk.

"Maybe another time; I already have a lunch for today and I don't want it to go to waste." I said, biting my bottom lip, a nervous habit I picked up from Caroline. I wasn't lying or anything, Emmett just makes me really nervous.

"Ok."

"I'm thinking of dying my hair black, what do you think Bella?" Alice cut in, twirling her brown hair.

"Black would suit you better than brown." I answered honestly.

"Want to come to my house and help me dye it?" She asked cheerfully.

"No thanks." I replied, trying to sound nice.

"Oh come on, it'll be fun." She pleaded.

"I have to study for a math test." I thanked god that I actually did have a math test to study for.

"What about this weekend?" She asked, not wanting to take no for an answer.

"I have tons of laundry to do and I gotta study for my biology test." I said nervously.

"Perfect, you can help me dye my hair, then we can do laundry and study together; my hamper is getting full and I have a biology test on Monday." She said with a smile. I had no way to get out of this.

"I'll have to check with my mom and make sure she doesn't have any plans." I lied. Caroline wouldn't include me in her plans without letting me know in advance. She also doesn't care where I go over the weekend as long as I'm home before 4am. "I'll let you know if she has no plans."

"Okay." She said and began putting her stuff away.

"What class do you have next?" I asked Emmett.

"Gym." He said cheerfully.

How anyone can be happy about gym is beyond me. When the bell rang, I turned my desk back around and grabbed my bag. On my way out, Alice gave me a small piece of paper with her number scribbled on it. "Call or text me sometime." She said and took off.

"She's really nice you know. You could try to put some effort into befriending her." Emmett said.

"I'm not good with friends." I said and walked faster.

"Yeah, well she's trying to be your friend. You owe it to her to at least try." He argued, easily keeping up with me.

"I don't owe her shit, in fact, I don't owe anyone a damn thing."

"See, that's your problem; you're so used to being a stonehearted bitch, you can't see when someone's being good to you." He said, standing in front of me so I wouldn't walk away. Not that I'd ever admit it or anything, but he was kind of right. Here comes my response, drum roll please ladies and gentlemen.

"Fuck you pretty boy, you don't know shit about me!" I said and shoved my way past him. I didn't bother looking back to see his reaction. I endured my next three classes, then considered going home for lunch.. Despite knowing that Emmett would be there, I went to the cafeteria. I was relieved to see my usual table was empty. I sat down and pulled out my food along with my magazines. I was just about to scribble over Lindsay Lohan's face when my feet were rudely pushed off the chair. I looked up with a glare.

"Mind if I sit?" Emmet asked, dropping his bag to the floor and setting his tray on the table.

"Yes, I do mind!" I growled and put my feet back on the chair.

"Tough luck." He said and pushed my feet off the chair again. He took a seat and smiled. I put my feet up on his legs and went back to my magazine.

"Look, I'm sorry about what I said earlier." He apologized.

"You should be, you're an asshole." I said without looking up.

"I shouldn't have said any of that, I especially shouldn't have called you a bitch. You're actually the first girl I've said that to." He said with sorrow evident in his voice.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" I asked and slammed my magazine down on the table.

"Look, I'm trying to apologize!"

"And I'm trying to tell you I don't give a rat's ass about your apology. Do us both a favor and shove it up your ass." What happened next was definitely unexpected. He pushed my feet off his legs, stood up and pulled me up into a hug.

"I'm sorry." He said and held me tighter. I didn't know whether to hit him or hug him back so I just stood there. "You know, you're generally supposed to hug someone back when they hug you." He said with amusement. I didn't move.

"Awww, look at them Jazz, they're so cute." Alice gushed to her boyfriend and I pushed Emmett off. Alice had a huge grin on her face and her boyfriend looked indifferent. Needless to say the rest of lunch was awkward; what with Alice chirping away happily and her boyfriend giving off a creepy vibe. I nodded occasionally and threw in a few words so I wouldn't look dumb.

The second lunch was over, I rushed to biology. When school let out, I couldn't be happier to get the hell out of there. I practically ran to my car and sped home. Today was almost as weird as yesterday and I'm ready to put it behind me. When I got home, I went straight to the shower; what I needed more than anything was to relax under steaming hot water. I sat in the shower and let scalding water beat down my skin for about forty five minutes. After drying off, I put on a white tank top and short green shorts.

I was kind of surprised to see Caroline home when I went down to the kitchen. "What are you doing home so early?" I asked her and hopped up on the counter.

"I thought we could go out and grab a bite to eat or hang out since we didn't do anything for your birthday yesterday." She said, drying her hands on the hand towel. I know Caroline doesn't "hang out" so we'll just do something we can both enjoy.

"We can go to Applebee's." I suggested.

"Sounds good." She said and went upstairs. After she changed out of her work clothes, we left. "What do you want for your birthday?" She asked, running two stop signs and a red light. I love how she's such a great driver . . . note the sarcasm.

"You mean other than a fuck awesome car and going to Applebee's?" I asked sarcastically.

"Stop swearing." I was giddy when we arrived at Applebee's. It's the only place I love more than Ribs. We got our seats and ordered. Caroline didn't get much but my fat-ass ordered just about everything that called to me. We made mindless conversation for a while. At one point, Caroline even attempted to name my favorite bands, needless to say that was an epic fail. I laughed so hard I nearly fell out of my seat. Judging by the glares I got, I was annoying the people around me. Oh well.

"Shush! You're bothering people."Caroline whispered and I laughed louder.

"They can go fuck themselves."

"Stop swearing. You need soap in your mouth." She frowned.

I ordered chocolate cheesecake and stuffed my face. "You have food on your face, go clean yourself up, and wash your hands while you're at it." Caroline said, eying my chocolaty hands carefully.

"I can't promise to clean myself up, but I'll head to the bathroom anyway; I gotta take a piss." I said and she scoffed. I walked into the men's room just for fun and they were horrified. "Hey baby." I said to the guys at the urinals. They glared at me and quickly zipped up their pants. I laughed and went to the "ladies room" to wash my hands. When I pushed open the girl's bathroom, Emmett was standing there looking uncomfortable. "Well, this isn't awkward at all." I said and went over to the sink.

"This isn't what you think it is." He said, shifting uncomfortably.

"So you're not some pervert hanging out in the women's bathroom waiting for an innocent young girl to walk in so you can molest her?" I asked and washed my hands.

"Do I look like a pedophile to you?"

"Do you really want me to answer that question?" A cute little girl that looked about 4 or 5 walked out of one of the stalls and washed her hands in the sink next to mine. She had curly, light brown hair and dimples like Emmett. She held out her tiny hands and Emmett dried them with a paper towel.

"Thanks." She said and left.

"I better leave before someone gets the wrong idea." He said.

"Yeah, because no one got the wrong idea when they saw a big guy walk into the girl's bathroom with a kid." I said and turned to wash my face. He left and I dried my mouth then went to pee. After washing my hands again and fixing my ponytail, I went back to our table. "Let's order another round of food, then we can leave." I told Caroline.

"Don't look but that cute guy is staring at you." Caroline said with a smile. I turned around and saw Emmett. I rolled my eyes and turned back to Caroline.

"Ugh he goes to my school." I said and kept eating.

"Are you going to say hi?" Caroline asked.

"No."

"That's rude. It might hurt his feelings if you don't say hi."

"Oh, well. What doesn't kill him will only make him stronger." I said, taking another bite of food. When I finished eating, I went to the bathroom to wash my hands then we left. Caroline looked a little too happy as we were leaving; I don't trust her, she's up to something. When we got home, Caroline made some lame excuse about being tired and went up to her room. I grabbed a soda and went up to my room. Drinking the entire can left me bloated and that was good enough to make me sleepy.

I turned on the stereo to block out the sound of the stupid birds on the balcony and lay at the foot of my bed. Just as my eyelids began to droop, I heard the doorbell. Who the hell has such bad timing that they would show up just as I'm falling asleep. More importantly, who would come this far out of town; my house is practically in the woods for crying out loud. The bell rang again and again. That's it. Finally fed up with the sound, I got up and went downstairs. I could see the form of a big burly man through the fog on the glass door.

"Who is it?" I yelled. The doorbell rang again.

"I don't open door for strangers when it's raining, so you better say who the fuck you are." I yelled and waited for a reply . . . Nothing. The doorbell rang again after a bit. "You son of a . . ." I began to say and yanked the door open.

"You are a very aggressive young lady."Emmett said, leaning against the doorway.

"What the hell are you doing at my door?" I asked, bewildered.

"Well, I _was_ going to climb through your open window." He said, pointing at my bedroom window to prove his point. "But it's raining pretty hard and I figured I'd probably slip off and break my neck." He finished with a cheeky grin.

"I think you're stalking me." I stated bluntly.

"Not really. I kinda introduced myself to your mother and asked permission to come see you." He said with a devious grin. So that's why she was dying to get to bed all the sudden.

"I can't believe you talked to my mother." I said disbelievingly. "Without my permission either; you have some nerve." I tried to sound angry.

"Now you know how serious I am about being your friend; I'll stalk you if I have to. So are you going to invite me in or what?" He asked, shivering a little. "Take your time inviting me in, it's not like I'm freezing my balls off or anything." Having Emmett in my house . . . I can live with that. I pretended to think it over for a few more seconds, then stepped aside to let him in.

"Sorry, I kinda wet your floor." He said, taking off his shoes

"It's fine." I said and handed him a towel from the coat closet. Don't ask why we have towels in our coat closet, it will only lead to strange answers, which will lead to strange questions. He patted his face and arms dry, then followed me upstairs.

"Nice place." He said as we walked into my room.

"You can tell that to my mom . . . I mean since you two are well acquainted and all." I said with a swift roll of my eyes. He scoffed in response and turned off my radio. He plugged his IPod into my IHome and pretty soon, my room was filled with John Meyer's soothing voice. I shut my bedroom door and lay, on my stomach, in the center of my bed. Emmett came over and sat on me.

"Get off, you're wetting me!" I yelled through giggles.

"So I get you wet, do I?" He wiggled his eyebrows.

"You're sick you know that?" I managed to push him off and pulled my hair into a crappy ponytail. "You're wetting my carpet, so take off your clothes."

"Because I'm wetting your carpet you want me to strip for you?" He asked with a wide grin.

"I didn't mean for it to sound like that. I meant take off your clothes so I can toss them in the dryer." I mumbled and turned away to hide my blush. I closed my eyes to give him more privacy.

"I'm descent." He said cheerfully. I turned to see him wearing nothing but his underwear. He's a boxer briefs kinda guy; I like it. I was dazed for a while.

"Like what you see?" His comment snapped me back to reality.

"What the fuck? . . . No, I was just . . . I didn't." I stuttered and he raised an eyebrow. "I've seen better." I lied and took his clothes. Once the wet clothes were in the dryer, I sat on the washer and waited. Emmett walked in and stood in front of me.

"This would look very wrong if your mom walked in." He said and moved closer.

"Why, we're not doing anything?"

"True . . . but-" He started but stopped.

"But what?" I pressed and let my eyes roam over his body, taking in every little detail.

"But you want me." He said simply. He was completely right but of course I wouldn't admit that.

"You're pretty cocky for an alright looking guy." I lied.

"Ouch. That really hurt." He said and I shrugged.

"You're soo not my type."

"That's soo not true." He said, almost daring me to say otherwise.

"And what makes you think that?" I challenged.

"The first time you saw me, you're eyes lingered a whole lot longer than they would have if wasn't your type. In fact, I've caught you checking me out on several occasions, today included." He said smugly. I kinda wanted to slap the smile off his face, because he was right. I guess I'm not as subtle as I thought.

"I'm an observant person. Just because I was looking at you, doesn't mean I was checking you out; which brings me back to the point that you're a cocky guy." He moved a bit closer and rested his hand on my left knee. I flinched a little from his cold touch, but stayed still for the most part. His hand slid up and didn't stop till it was halfway up my thigh.

"Feel anything for me now?" He asked and began to draw lazy circles on my thigh. I swallowed and tried to talk, but no sound made it past my lips. I shook my head 'no' and he moved even closer; he was now right between my legs. "Are you sure you can't feel anything?" his right hand came up and brushed a few loose strands of hair away from my face, while his left hand continued drawing random patterns on my thigh. I opened my mouth to say something, anything, but the buzzer on the dryer went off and scared the shit out of me. I jumped up and my heart began racing erratically.

Emmett chuckled and pulled the dryer open. He grabbed his clothes and quickly dressed himself. Leave it to me to have a hot, nearly naked guy in my house and not even try anything. I am officially lamer than lame. I hopped off the washer and hurried back to my room, Emmett trailing behind me. He turned on the tv and flipped through the channels.

"You make yourself right at home don't you?" I could never go to someone's house and touch their stuff.

"I'm your guest, you should make me feel at home." He said, laying back on the bed and resting his head on my back.

"You're technically my mom's guest . . . since she—without consulting me—gave you the green light to drop by and all." He snorted.

"When you come to my house, I'll be nice and let you make yourself at home." He continued flipping through the channels. Is that an invite? I sure hope so.

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. You can come to my house anytime you want. You don't even have to ask." He said with a childish grin. We stayed quiet for a while after that. He put on a hockey game and I turned the tv off.

"No sports allowed in my house; no speaking of them and certainly no watching them." I said, tossing the remote to the other side of the room.

"That's ludicrous. What were you doing before I got here?"

"Trying to sleep." I shifted and he moved his head long enough for me to flip onto my back. He lay his head on my stomach and sighed.

"You're awfully warm for such a coldhearted person." He mumbled into my stomach. His warm breath seeped through my shirt and tickled my sides. My stomach growled and he laughed.

"Weren't you just at Applebee's?"

"So I eat a lot, sue me." I like food and since I don't get fat easily, I make the best of things and eat whenever I can find food.

The rain was picking up and I took comfort in that. I sleep well when it rains. I got up and went to sit in front of the balcony door. I watched as hundreds of drops of water hit the glass door and quickly rolled down. A wet squirrel was standing at the edge of my balcony, visibly shivering so I grabbed an empty shoebox from the closet and stuffed a small towel inside.

I slid open the door and held out the box so the squirrel could jump in. Of course the little bastard stood there staring instead of getting in the damn box. I jabbed him with the box and he finally jumped in. I covered it with a small towel and put the shoebox in the corner.

"Rescuing rabid squirrels are we?" Emmett chuckled.

"Well he would have died or washed away if I didn't save him. Unlike you, I actually like animals." I smiled and went out to the hall to turn the heat up. "Your sister is so cute." I said, going through his iPod.

"Yeah, Marti is a real beauty; she takes after my mom." He said, his eyes lighting up a little. I could tell he was close to his family and very protective of his sister.

"How old is she?"

"5. She turned 5 about two months ago." He said proudly.

"Do you have any other siblings?"

"No. It's just me and Marti."

"Your taste in music isn't too bad." I said and put his IPod down.

"Are you going to hang out with Alice this weekend?' He asked and I frowned. I almost forgot I told her I'd ask my mom. Damn it, I really don't want to hang out with her and her creepy boyfriend.

"Her boyfriend is so creepy."I said, ignoring his question.

"Yes or no?" he wouldn't let me change the subject.

I though it over for a second. She really isn't that bad, once you get past the creepy her smiles and creepy boyfriend and happy demeanor. "Yeah." I grumbled, hoping I wouldn't regret this later.

"Good, she likes you and she wants to be your friend." I smiled a little. It's kinda nice knowing someone likes me for me.

"Whatever."

"I should go, I promised Marti I'd watch Princess and the frog with her." He said, his cheeks going a little pink. That's cute.

"Awww, you like princess movies?" I teased and his blush darkened.

"Shut up." I walked him to the door. He put his shoes on and grabbed his helmet.

"See you at school." I said. "Don't go slipping off your bike and killing yourself, it's raining kinda hard." I said as an afterthought.

"We're going to ihop for lunch tomorrow." He said and took off without another word. I locked the door and went back to my room. My bed smelled a little like him. I lied down and fell asleep quickly.

I felt horrible when I woke up the next morning. My throat was sore and felt like I had swallowed needles and my sides were cramping horribly. Hooray, I'm coming down with a cold and my period is starting. Fuck my life. I attempted to get up but my head began spinning. I immediately became nauseas and lay back down. I grabbed my phone and texted Caroline. 'I feel like ass . . . no school'

She was in my room with Nyquil, god bless her, within minutes. She felt my forehead and nodded. "You're burning up. Try and get some sleep, if you don't feel better tomorrow morning, I'll take you to the doctor." She said, quickly kissing my forehead. "Call me at work if you need anything." She said before leaving. I heard her car pull out of the driveway and drive off after a few minutes.

After taking Nyquil and letting the squirrel from yesterday out, I went back to bed. I tossed and turned for several minutes before finally falling asleep.

I woke up to the extremely annoying buzzing of my phone; the screen flashed some number I didn't recognize. I glared at the number for a few seconds before answering. "What?" whoever it is better have a good excuse for waking me up.

"Is this the thanks I get for being worried when you don't show up to school? You ditching school or what?" Emmett was practically yelling into the phone.

"No, I'm sick. Why are you yelling?" my voice was raspy and my throat hurt like hell.

"You need some company?" he asked kindly.

"No." the last thing I need is for him to see me sick and looking like ass.

"If you change your mind, you now have my number; I'm just a phone call away." He said sweetly.

"Thanks. I'll text you later, I need some sleep."

"Get better soon." He said before hanging up.

Well, now that he's on my mind, I have no desire to sleep. I took a really hot shower and went to Caroline's study; it was more like a library. I spent half an hour looking for a book to read, but gave up when I began sneezing like crazy. I went back to my room and lit my fireplace. My stomach growled so I texted Emmett.

'Food?'  
-B

He replied a few seconds later:

'Way ahead of you'

I went downstairs and grabbed a few cans of soda. My phone buzzed and I immediately picked it up.

'Chinese?'

'Sure' I texted back. The phone buzzed again.

'See U in 10'

I took the sodas up to my room and cleaned up a little. The fire from the fireplace had warmed up the room nicely. I spread a few blankets over the carpet and tossed a few pillows onto the blankets. I pulled my hair into a messy ponytail and brushed my teeth again for good measures. I changed into a white tank top and light blue shorts, then put on my fluffy, matching blue slippers. There was a bang on the front door just as I was heading downstairs.

When I opened the front door, I was surprised to see it was snowing; no wonder the house was so cold. "Hey." Emmett said and handed me bags of take out. "Put these in the kitchen and open the garage." He said and walked back out into the snow. I set the food in the kitchen and opened the garage. Once he put his bike in the garage, we went back into the house and he took off his helmet. His cheeks were flushed pink from the cold and his hair was slightly wet from the snow. His lips looked pinker than usual and I kinda liked it. "Take out, hot tea and cough drops." He said, pointing to the bags I had set on the kitchen counter.

"You didn't have to get all this." I said, taking a sip of the hot tea; the heat soothed my throat.

"Are you kidding, of course I did. I wouldn't leave my girl home alone to fend for herself while she's sick." He said, making me blush.

"I'm not your girl." I mumbled, taking a sip of tea.

"Not yet you're not. It's just a matter of time though." He said with a wink. He followed me up to my room and set the food on the blankets I had set up. I looked at his lips and smiled; I'm starting to like the color pink. We sat in front of the fire and ate. The food was good and it definitely satisfied my growling stomach. We continued eating in silence until Emmett spoke up.

"Are those yours?" He asked, pointing to the square, black reading glasses on the table.

"Yeah."

"Why don't you wear them at school?"

"They make me look weird."

"Put them on." He said, picking them up and handing them to me.

I sighed and put them on. "You look hot!" he grinned and I took them off. "Put them back on, I like how they make you look; you've got the whole sexy school teacher look." I rolled my eyes but put them back on.

"How bad is your eyesight without them?"

"I'm not as blind as a bat, but I can't see much without them. I usually wear contacts."

"You should wear them more often, I like them on you." He said and kept eating. The rest of the day was kinda fun. We watched funny movies and ended up falling asleep. I woke up at around 8 in the afternoon and Emmett was gone. I also noticed that he had moved me from the floor to the bed. I checked the garage but his bike was gone too. He left a note on my mirror.

'Gotta pick Marti up from daycare, call me when you wake up.'

I thought about calling him, but chickened out and went back to sleep. I felt a little better the next day, so I decided I would go to school. After getting dressed, I stood in the mirror for about 15 minutes debating on whether to put in my contacts or wear my glasses; I ended up wearing the glasses. I guess I want to impress Emmett this morning.

"Feeling better?" Caroline asked when I went downstairs.

"Yeah."

"You're finally wearing your glasses; you look beautiful." She smiled and handed me a twenty dollar bill. "Make sure you drink lots of water and eat a lot. You won't get better if you don't."

"Thanks." I stopped at Starbucks like usual and picked up a coffee. When I made it to school, Emmett's bike wasn't there yet, so I went to Novak's room. He was grading papers when I walked in.

"Miss me yesterday?" I asked and went to my desk. He jumped a little; I guess he didn't hear me come in.

"Class was less stressful." He said with a smile. He went rigid for a second when he looked up at me.

"What? Do I have something on my face?"

"No, you just look different with glasses." He said and turned his attention back to the papers he was grading. Wonder what's up with him. Emmett still hadn't showed up by the time the bell rang. Alice sat next to me and gave me a creepy smile.

"What?"

"You look very pretty with glasses on." She said with another creepy smile.

"Uhm, thanks?" my response came out sounding like a question.

"Feeling better?" how does she know I wasn't feeling well? "Emmett told me." She said, answering my unasked question. Is she a mind reader or what? She rolled her eyes and giggled. "Me, a mind reader? You're so silly." Not going to ask how she knew to answer that.

"Is Emmett here?" I asked, changing the subject.

"No. He had to stay home today. He won't be here all week." She said with a sigh.

"Did something happen?" Why didn't he text me.

"He didn't tell me much, he just said he had to stay home, and he wouldn't be here for the rest of the week. I sure hope everything's all right." She said and turned to pay attention to the lesson.

'Is everything ok?' I texted Emmett. The rest of my classes were a blur, until lunch; lunch was just awkward. Emmett still hadn't answered and Alice's creepy boyfriend was giving me a weird look; like he knew something I didn't.

"So are we on for Saturday?" Alice asked and I nodded absentmindedly. I was too busy trying to figure out why Emmett wasn't here and why Jonah-Jackson-Jasper, whatever his name is was shooting me weird looks, some which could easily be classified as glares. By the time school was out, I had given up hope that Emmett would text back.

When I got home, I was surprised to see Caroline's car in the garage. What's she doing home so early? When I walked into the house, everything was quiet. "Mom!" I called when I walked into the living room. No answer. "Mom!" I called again; nothing. I went upstairs and looked in her room; she wasn't there. I tossed my bag in my room and walked to her study. As I got closer, I could hear two voices; Caroline's and an unfamiliar male. I pushed open the door to the study and was horrified by what I saw.

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A cliffhanger to keep you guessing. What did Bella see? Why isn't Emmett at school? Why won't he answer his phone? What's with Jasper? Why is Novak being strange? Review if you want to know. This chapter didn't have much action, it was only to set up Bella and Emmett's awkward relationship. Next chap will have some answers and will be up soon.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N****: **Here's chapter 3. No cliffy this time :) I will be updating once or twice a week since Christmas break starts in about a week. Some major stuff happens in this chapter, but don't worry, the drama is just getting started. Enjoy!

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Last Chapter Recap: When I got home, I was surprised to see Caroline's car in the garage. What's she doing home so early? When I walked into the house, everything was quiet. "Mom!" I called when I walked into the living room. No answer. "Mom!" I called again; nothing. I went upstairs and looked in her room; she wasn't there. I tossed my bag in my room and walked to her study. As I got closer, I could hear two voices; Caroline's and an unfamiliar male. I pushed open the door to the study and was horrified by what I saw.

Caroline was completely naked and straddling the very last person I needed in my life at the moment; my so called father Phil. What the hell is going on? When they finally noticed me standing there, completely shocked, they jumped away from each other and covered up with pillows. "What the hell? Why are you doing this?" I yelled at Caroline and she had the nerve to shoot me an apologetic look. "Why are you with him?"

"Look, we'll talk about this in a minute, go wait in your room." She said, slowly picking her clothes up off the floor.

"Fuck that! I'm out of here." I grabbed my bag from my room and ran out to my car. The second I got the key into the ignition, I was gone without a second thought. I drove as fast as I could in my current state of shock, without knowing where the hell I was going. Why is this happening? What did I do to deserve this? Does she not care about me at all? Why is he back? How did he even get out of prison? I'll never forgive her for this. Of all the things she could do to hurt me, she does this.

When I could finally think straight I drove to First Beach, in La Push, where I spent most of my time as a kid. The beach was deserted; not a single person around. I locked my car and pulled my shoes and socks off. The wet sand under my feet took me back to when I was a kid. I closed my eyes and continued walking till my feet hit the water. The rush of the waves and the salty smell of the ocean sent chills up my spine. I looked over and saw the cliff Caroline never let me near as a kid. I remember the local boys used it for cliff diving; one of the many dumb things they did for fun. Before I could come back to my senses, I pulled my clothes off and left them in a pile near the rocks. I dropped my phone, glasses and car keys in the pile of clothes and ran up the cliff. Being completely naked and alone somehow comforted me a bit.

The bitter wind felt like heaven on my bare skin, leaving traces of heat everywhere it touched me. I stood at the top of the cliff and yanked my hair free from the ponytail it was in. For just a few seconds, my entire body felt as if it was on fire, then the numbing cold set in. my body was covered in goose bumps and my nipples were nearly frozen. The wind picked up and whipped my hair back and forth. I decided to go through with my plan before sanity and reality set back in.

I took a deep breath then threw myself off the cliff; everything after that happened in slow motion. The bitter and unforgiving wind tossed me around like a rag doll as I heard a single voice call my name. The voice was far away but very familiar. Upon impact, the freezing water hit my body like a thousand needles and I slowly began to sink to the bottom of the ocean. I could have tried to swim back to the top if I wanted to, but I didn't. Instead, I closed my eyes and let myself be pulled into the darkness. That familiar voice called out to me one more time before I was completely gone.

My lungs were burning and I could hear the ocean waves crashing onto the shore. I could hear faint voices; one of a man and the other of a little girl. I couldn't make out what they were saying though. I tried to open my eyes but the burned like crazy. I took a deep breath and my lungs were on fire. I gaped and struggled to breathe again. Why am I suffocating? I tried to move but my body was too heavy. My lungs kept burning till I felt something warm on my mouth; another mouth blowing air into me, I think. I slowly began to slip into unconsciousness. I could feel myself being lifted by a pair of strong arms, but I still couldn't move. Soon, I could hear or feel nothing. I slowly slipped back into the darkness.

My eyes opened and adjusted to the darkness around me. I shifted and little and realized in was on a bed. The room was completely dark except for the very dim moonlight seeping in through the light drapes on the window. Strewn across me was the silkiest duvet I'd ever felt. I slowly pushed the duvet off but stopped once I realized I was completely naked. Where the hell am I and why am I not dressed. Oh god, what if I've been kidnapped and turned into a sex slave of some sort. I have to calm down; I can't put myself in bad scenarios yet. The bedroom door, which was directly in front of me, opened very slowly letting in very little light.

I shifted uncomfortably and braced myself for whatever would come next. The dark figure of a woman walked over to me and stopped at my side. My heart went into overdrive. Her hand reached over and turned on the bedside lamp. The light was dim, but it was enough for me to see her face. My vision was a little fuzzy but I could tell she was a very beautiful woman with long, thick brown hair. Her eyes were a beautiful sharp blue and she had high cheekbones. Her small hand slowly moved forward and rested on my forehead.

"How are you feeling?" She asked, her voice a near whisper.

"Where am I?" I croaked. My throat was sore and caught on fire as soon as the words were out of my mouth. She smiled a beautiful and gentle smile. Her smile was very familiar; it reminded me of someone else's smile, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

"Don't worry, you're safe. Do you remember anything?" She asked. Her voice was innocent and velvety; almost like an angel. Am I in heaven? Maybe I died. I shook my head no and she nodded. "It will all come back to you eventually sweetheart." She said and walked over to the dresser. "Let's get you dressed shall we." She said and was back at my side with clothes. She helped me sit up and get dressed. I was kind of nervous to be naked in front of a total stranger, but again, I felt like I could trust her. Once I was dressed, she handed me my glasses. Now that I could see more clearly, she looked even more beautiful.

She led me out of the room and down a spiral staircase. She held my hand so I wouldn't trip and fall. We walked into a beautiful living room, where she had a hot cup of tea waiting for me. I took a seat and she handed me the cup. "Drink up while I go make you something to eat." She said and disappeared into what I assume is a kitchen. I sat awkwardly by the blazing fireplace and drank my tea. I wanted to get up and look around but decided against it for fear of what I might find. I went over to the big window on the right and looked outside. Everything was covered in white and there was tons of snow falling from the sky. The sound of light footsteps coming down the stairs startled me. I jumped a little and quickly turned around.

Emmett. I didn't know what to do or say so I stood there, awkwardly holding the cup of tea. He looked angry; angry and tortured. In a sick and twisted way, he looked beautiful. Shadows from the fire danced on his face and set his eye ablaze. "What the hell were you thinking?" He asked, looking more tormented with each word that brushed past his lips. What is he talking about?

My eyes closed and the image of a girl on a cliff flashed through my mind. "Were you even thinking?" He looked more tortured than before. I blinked and another image flashed through my mind. A naked girl falling from a cliff and hitting the water. Shivers ran down my spine and all the sudden, I was there; standing at a distance, watching the girl throw herself off the cliff and drown. Oh god, it's me. My lungs began to burn again and I couldn't breathe; I felt as if I was drowning all over again. It all makes sense:

Phil and Caroline. I saw them and ran. Realization dawned upon me; I tried to kill myself—I tried to drown myself. I looked up at Emmett and he looked as if he was in pain. I dropped the now empty cup and fell to the floor as tears burned my eyes. I tried to kill myself. Oh god, I tried to kill myself. What is wrong with me? Emmett walked over and picked me up. He sat me on the couch and held me while I cried.

"Why would you do something so stupid huh?" He asked and held me tighter. After what seemed like hours of crying, I pulled away from Emmett and tried to calm myself. His thumbs slid beneath my glasses and wiped my tears away.

"You want to tell me what's going on? What was so bad that you felt the need to throw yourself off a cliff?" He asked and grabbed a blue blanket from the couch. He draped the blanket around my shivering form and moved us closer to the fire.

"I don't know. I guess I just lost it. One minute I'm yelling at my mom and the next minute I'm drowning." I whispered and he put his arm around me.

"You want to talk about it?"

"When I got home from school my mom's car was in the garage. She's usually never home before me, so of course I was suspicious. I went to her study and she was in there, doing god knows what with _him_." Tears were pouring down my face and I didn't bother to wipe them away.

"Who?"

I nearly chocked trying to say his name. "…. Phil."

"Who's Phil?" He asked, wanting to know the answer but not wanting to push me.

"It started when I was six; I had a nightmare and Phil came to my room. He lay in bed with me like he always did when I had nightmares, but that night was different. He molested me. Of course I was too young to know it was wrong so I said nothing. I finally told my mom just before I turned fourteen and she was pissed. She called tried calling the cops but he threatened her. They would argue every night and she would try to get us out of the house; he always hit her though. On my fourteenth birthday, he took off and we didn't hear from him for months. He showed up one day and my mom called the cops. He went to prison and we moved to Forks." Emmett was quiet. He held me tighter as I began to cry harder.

After a few minutes, Emmett pulled away a little and looked into my eyes. "Bella, who's Phil?"

"My dad." Just saying those two words made me feel dirty. My tongue burned with disgust and I burned with shame. I looked away from Emmett's eyes and began to sob. I couldn't look at him anymore, I was too ashamed.

"Bella, I am so sorry." He said and tightened his embrace on me.

"He was at my house. Caroline was having sex with him. How can she do that to me?" I sobbed. I cried for another half hour before I could pull myself together. "Can I stay here just for tonight?" I asked, praying to god he wouldn't say no.

"Bella, you can stay as long as you want to." He said, and tucked a few hairs behind my ear. "I put your car in the garage."

"Thanks." I said, looking down at my hands.

He seemed to sense my discomfort and need to be alone. "I'll be right back; I'm going to help my mom in the kitchen really quick." He said and I nodded. Once he left, I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. I sat and watched the fire for a long time, only turning when I got the feeling I was being watched. I turned around and saw Emmett's sister on the staircase, watching me. She slowly walked over to me and smiled.

"Are you staying for dinner?" She asked cutely. Her voice was so adorable. Looking at her shifted my thoughts back to Phil. I didn't really know what to say so I shrugged. "Silly, that's not an answer." She giggled. I smiled a little.

"I would like to stay, but only if it's okay with you and your mom." I said and she nodded.

"It's okay. You can stay. We can eat and play with my barbies and watch a princess movie and brush my hair." She said, counting all the different activities off her fingers.

"Marti, quit bugging her." Emmett said as he walked back into the living room. "Go watch tv or something."

"No mister, _you_ go watch tv or something!" She yelled and put her tiny hands on her hips. She made the cutest angry face at him.

"Marti, stop it." He said, setting a full cup of hot tea on the coffee table.

"No, you stop it! I'm mad at you!" She said and sat next to me.

"Fine, I'm not your friend anymore." Emmett said and turned away from her.

"I don't care! Bella will be my friend, right princess Bella?" She asked with a cute pout and I nodded.

"I'll be your friend Marti."

"We can make a castle. And you can be a princess and I can be a princess and he can be the ugly frog that can't turn into a handsome prince because he's a meanie." She said, pointing at Emmett. I giggled and nodded in agreement.

"He's not handsome enough to be a prince anyway." She nodded her agreement.

"Rude! I'm too handsome to be a prince, now go wash up for dinner before I eat you!" He said, picking her up and tossing her in the air. She giggled and squealed, then ran to the kitchen when he put her down.

"She's adorable." I said, slowly sipping my tea. The warmth was soothing and my throat didn't hurt as much anymore.

"You okay?" He asked and I nodded.

"How'd you find me?" I don't know how he managed to find me; the beach was deserted.

"I was at the beach with Marti all day. I was drying her off and changing her clothes when I saw your car pull up. I didn't know it was you at first. We got in the car and drove off, but Marti said she forgot her bucket. We went back to look for it and I saw your crazy ass getting naked." He said with a smirk. I blushed a little; he saw me naked. "I didn't know what you were doing till I saw you run up the cliff and get ready to jump. I called out to you just as you threw yourself off. I called out again but you had already hit the water and you were sinking. I yelled for Marti to call my mom and tell her there was an emergency at the beach, then I jumped in after you. Your body was completely limp when I pulled you out of the water. I did CPR till my mom got there and took over. As soon as we got home, I filled the tub with warm water and put you inside. I then dried you and took you to bed." He said, his cheeks growing pink.

"Thank you, you saved my life. I honestly owe you my life. I don't know what I was thinking." I said, still wondering how the hell I thought throwing myself off a cliff would fix anything.

"Don't worry about it." He said. His mom walked into the living room, carrying Marti. She smiled at me and I looked away in embarrassment. I didn't want her to think I was some psychopath that frequently turned to suicide to fix my problems.

"Bella, this is my mom, Evelyn. Mom, this is my good friend Bells." Emmett introduced us and I stood up to shake her hand.

"Are you feeling better honey?"

"Yes I am. Thank you for everything." I said and she smiled.

"It's no problem at all. You can stay here for as long as you want." Her smile was so much like Emmett's, that's why I thought it was so familiar before. "You two wash up for dinner." She said and went back to the kitchen. After washing our hands, we went to the dining room for dinner. They talked about a lot and tried to include me in the conversations. I didn't talk unless I was answering a question. I remembered that Emmett didn't go to school and made a mental note to ask him about it later.

After we ate, Emmett suggested I go lay down, but I insisted on helping clear the table and loading the dishwasher. Once everything was cleaned up, Evelyn pulled Emmett aside to talk to him before taking Marti upstairs to give her a bath. "You probably shouldn't go to school tomorrow." Emmett said, leading me back to the living room. He turned on the tv and flipped through the channels. He finally settled on a channel playing a Christmas movie. "Why the hell are they showing Christmas films when Christmas isn't for another three and a half months? " He complained.

"Why weren't you at school?" I asked. I wanted to be more subtle but I couldn't think of another way to ask.

"Marti asked me to take her to the beach." He said simply.

"Alice said you would be out for the rest of the week."

"Yeah. Mom has a meeting in California and I'd rather stay home with Marti than leave her at daycare all day." He smiled. "She's said she hates it there and asked me to stay home with her, so I figured, why the hell not."

I wanted to ask why he never texted me back, but I decided it wasn't important. "Awww, but I want princess Bella to do it." Marti yelled from upstairs.

"Go to bed Marti!" Emmett yelled and shook his head. Marti ran down the stairs and jumped into the couch.

"Will you brush my hair princess Bella?" She asked and waved the brush in her hand.

"Go to bed Marti. Just ignore her Bella." Emmett said and changed the channel.

"I don't think we asked for his opinion." I whispered to Marti and she giggled.

"Yeah, so mind your own business mister!" She yelled and handed me the brush. After brushing her hair for five minutes, she fell asleep. I usually don't like kids, but there's something so cute about Marti.

Emmett held his arms out. "I'll take her to bed." He picked Marti up and took her upstairs. I lied on the couch and fell asleep before Emmett got back. My eyes opened when I felt myself being lifted. I was met with Emmett's blue eyes. "Let's go to bed sleepyhead." He said and went up the stairs. Part of me wanted to tell him to put me down, but a bigger part like being carried by him so I closed my eyes and fell asleep.

Something is weighing me down. Is someone sitting on me? I felt a slight tickle on my nose. What is that? I brushed my finger across my nose to get rid of the tickle. It was gone for just a moment but returned within seconds. I brushed it away again, but this time it didn't go away. When I opened my eyes, I was met with Marti's big blue orbs. She giggled and tickled my face with the pink feather she was holding. "Princess Bella, you're awake!" She laughed and bounced on my stomach. Emmett picked her up and sat her on the floor.

"Okay monster, go eat breakfast." He said and she frowned.

"I am not a monster!" She was offended.

"Please forgive me your highness; I am but a slimy and lowly frog wanting to become a handsome prince." He said and held out his arms. She quickly jumped into his arms and he kissed her.

"Ewww, you have cooties!" She wiped off her cheek and jumped out of his arms. "Mommy, Emmett put cooties on my face!" She giggled as she ran out of the room.

"You should come eat breakfast." He turned to leave but stopped in the doorway. He pulled my phone out of his pocket and set it on the dresser. "Your mom called, she wants you to go home." He said and scratched his head uncomfortably. Home is the last place I want to be. He left after that. I put on my glasses and brushed my teeth. Emmett and Marti were at the table eating breakfast when I came into the kitchen.

"How are you feeling Bella?" Evelyn asked, handing me a cup of coffee.

"Good. Thanks for letting me stay here last night." I said, desperately trying to sound normal.

"It's no problem dear, you're welcome here anytime." She said and I nodded my thanks.

Emmett mumbled something with a mouth full of cereal but I couldn't understand him.

"Ewww, close your mouth." Marti laughed and threw a few crumbs of toast at him.

He glared at her and rubbed the toast out of his hair. "You don't have to leave if you don't want to." He said after swallowing his cereal.

"I have to go home at some point." I replied, staring into my coffee.

"Actually you don't; you're a legal adult." He said, pointing his spoon at me.

"She'll eventually call the cops and report me missing."

"So what, they can't do anything either. Like I said, you're a legal adult, and technically, you're not missing because you told her you were leaving." He _did_ have a point. "You can stay here . . . but only if you want to."

I smiled but didn't answer. It's nice of Emmett and his mom to let me stay, but I'm not going to overstay my welcome. After breakfast, I grabbed my car keys and headed to the garage. "Are you leaving?" _Am_ I leaving? I don't want to, but I feel like I should.

"Yeah, I probably should." I couldn't look at him so I looked down.

"No, you shouldn't, not while that creep is still there." He said, his anger flaring. When I looked up, his eyes had darkened and his gorgeous pink lips were pursed into a thin line.

"I'll be fine." I think, I added in my head.

"I don't think you'll be fine. Why are you leaving? You don't have to go back there, not now." He said and moved closer.

"You expect me to stay here because you think I can't face Phil?" I was a little annoyed by this.

"No, I expect you to stay here so you don't get hurt again." He gently caressed my cheek.

"Even if I decide to stay, I gotta go home and get a few things."

"I can go get whatever you need."

"I'm perfectly capable of picking up my own belongings."

"Fine, I'll go with you." It was a reasonable request so I nodded and got in my car. The closer we got to my house, the more nervous I got. By the time I pulled into the driveway, my heart was practically jumping out of my chest. My hands shook as I unlocked the front door and walked in. Emmett put his hand on my shoulder to calm me down. I closed the door quietly and we went up to my room as silently as possible.

Once in my room, I grabbed a duffel bag and stuffed it with clothes. I also took my laptop and the charger for my phone and stuffed them both in the bag. Emmett took the bag and my schoolbooks out to my car while I looked around for anything else I might need. I went into my closet and grabbed the box where I kept all the pictures of me over the years. I stacked the rest of my school supplies on the box. Upon walking back into my room, I was hit with a realization; I'll never sleep in this room again. Hell, this might be the last time I ever walk into this room. That's fine though, I can live without ever coming back to this house. With that thought, I went downstairs. Just as I walked into the living room I heard Caroline. "Oh god Bella, I've been so worried about you." I turned to see her standing in the hall, holding Phil's hand. The bastard had the nerve to smile at me. Caroline ran up to me and began to pull me into a hug. I pushed her away and stumbled backwards. I dropped everything I was holding. Leave it to my clumsy ass to get my feet caught in the rug and fall back. Luckily though, Emmett caught me. How many times is he going to sweep in like Superman and save me?

Chills ran up my spine and my body was visibly shaking. Being in the same room as Phil was nauseating. I could feel myself swaying a little. Emmett steadied me and kept his hand at the small of my back.

"You ready to go?" He asked, his strained eyes never leaving Phil. His jaw was set and his face flushed with anger; angry Emmett is sexy in a twisted way. I nodded slightly and turned towards the door. "Bella, where are you going?"

"Don't worry about where I'm going Caroline. Don't expect me back anytime soon either." I snapped, knowing for sure that I wouldn't be coming back. My voice shook and broke a little with every word I said.

"She'll be back." Phil grunted.

"Don't hold your breath." That was the last thing I said. Emmett picked up my stuff and led me out to the passenger side of my car. He put the box and supplies in the back seat and I handed him the keys without question. I was in no state to drive. The further we got from my house, the better I felt. I was now less nauseous and the knots in my stomach were beginning to loosen.

"Take me to the bank." I said and Emmett nodded. I had to clear my account before Phil convinced Caroline to do anything stupid like freezing my account. He's conniving and manipulative and I have to take precautions to stay a few steps ahead of him. Emmett waited in the car while I transferred my savings and college funds into another account. I decided to take some money out of Caroline's account while I was at it; better safe than sorry.

"Can I speak to John?" I asked the lady who had helped me with the transfers. John is Caroline's personal accountant and I'm sure he can help me.

"He's out sick today." Just my luck. "Did you need him now or can it wait till tomorrow?" She asked, popping her gum.

"Yeah it's kind of urgent, he's my mom's accountant and she needs me to transfer some money for her." I lied.

"I can help you with that right now if you want. I just need some identification to match to your mom's file." She said and typed something into her computer. "Are you listed on your mom's account?" I nodded and handed her my driver's license. She asked for Caroline's name and account number then typed more things into her computer.

"How much do you want to transfer?" she asked.

"Half of everything." I said and she nearly chocked.

"Are you sure?" she tried to shake off her shock.

"Positive." She didn't look too sure but completed the transaction anyway.

"Ok, we're all done here."

"Thanks for your help." She looked unsure but nodded.

I ran back to the car and breathed a sigh of relief. My hands were shaking from fear of getting caught and I was glad to be back in the car. "You okay?" Emmett asked as he pulled out of the parking lot.

"Yeah; just a little shaken up but I think I'll be fine." I took deep breaths to calm myself. When he pulled into his garage, neither of us moved an inch. "I should get an apartment." I said, kinda shocking myself with the sudden announcement.

"You can stay here." He said, motioning to his house.

"I can't stay here forever Emmett."

"Sure you can." He smiled but the smile didn't reach his eyes like it usually does.

"I can't lie down and take defeat; I gotta get back on my feet and keep moving." I said, looking at my hands. I couldn't go back to Caroline and I couldn't hide out at Emmett's forever, so an apartment is the next best thing.

"I'll help you look this weekend." He was trying to sound supportive, despite his disapproval.

"Thanks."

"Once you get a place, Alice can help you make it all girly and whatnot." He said with a smile, trying to lighten the mood.

"Oh god, I bet it will end up looking like a unicorn threw up everywhere." I said, laughing as we got out of the car. The rest of the day was nice. We watched movies with Marti and I tried to forget my problems for the time being. Evelyn cancelled her trip to California so that Emmett and I wouldn't miss more school. I felt bad and tried to talk her out of it but she was determined to get us back to school.

"Ready for school tomorrow?" Emmett was leaning against wall.

"I guess. I keep feeling like it might be different, even though I know it won't be. I mean, none of this crap will affect my school life at all." I sighed and he smiled.

"You'll be fine. You're too much of a badass to let this bring you down." He joked.

"I sure hope you're right." I wanted to believe him, but I know there's more shit heading my way. Phil and Caroline aren't going to just magically disappear. I took my stuff up to the room where I was staying and texted Alice.

'Busy this weekend?'  
-Bella

She texted back almost immediately.

'Why what's up? We were going to do laundry and study weren't we?'

I rolled my eyes. She probably thinks I'm cancelling.

'You wanna help me look for an apartment instead?'

Again, her response was quick.

'Are you moving?'

'Moving out."

'Why?'

"Parental issues.' I left it at that.

'Okay, I'm free Saturday.'

'Thanks.'

'Coming to school tomorrow?'

'Yeah. Why?'

'We'll talk in first hour.' Was all she said.

'K.' I hooked my phone to the charger and lied down.

I was wondering whether or not to go back to Caroline's for the rest of my shoes and clothes when Emmett popped his head into the room. "How are you holding up?" He asked, not coming into the room.

"For the last time, I'm fine. I was just about to go to bed." I said and he nodded.

"Don't be annoyed. I'm used to looking out for people, I'm not trying to suffocate you or anything." He grinned.

"It's fine, I'm just stressed."

"Get some sleep." He said as I pulled the blankets over my head. "Good night." He said and flipped off the lights.

"Night." I was out like a light after that.

I woke up to Emmett nudging me. "Get ready for school." He said and left. I took a quick shower and pulled on jeans and a tank. My stomach was in knots when I went downstairs. The thought of going to school still had me nervous. I need to calm down, it's not like anyone other than Emmett will know what happened. Evelyn had to take Marti to daycare then head to work so she left before we did.

"Nervous?" Emmett chuckled.

"A little."

"I know what'll make you feel better."

"What?" he tossed me his bike helmet and smiled. He wants me to ride on his bike? I don't think so. I may be nervous but I haven't lost my mind. I shook my head and his smile grew wider.

""Do you trust me?"

"Well, sort of, but-"

"Then what are you waiting for, let's go." He dropped his cereal bowl in the sink and pulled me out to the garage. There was a door on the left side of the garage and I was pretty sure it didn't lead back into the house. He pushed the door open and waited for me to walk in. He flipped on the light and my mouth flew open. Holy shit.

"Take your pick." He said, motioning to a long row or Ducatis. There must have been at least a hundred bikes. I looked at him in shock; I couldn't even speak. "These are my toys." He said with a smug grin. The bright pink bike on the end caught my eye and I smiled a little.

"Pink?" I asked after getting past the initial shock.

"Hey, I'm sensitive at heart." He chuckled. "We can take the pink one if you want." He said and swapped the helmet he gave me with a pink one. I put on the helmet and waited eagerly for him to pull it out of the garage and shut the door. He got on the bike and I got on behind him. "I promise to go slow so you don't get sick." He said and waved his crossed fingers in front of me. I held on tight as he turned the key and took off. He began at a reasonable pace then accelerated. I don't know which was better, the rush I got as everything blurred past us or the chills I got from clinging onto Emmett. Part of me was a little scared because the road was covered in ice and it was snowing just a little bit but I was ok for the most part.

He slowed down just a bit as we neared the school zone. I was a bit disappointed when he pulled into the parking lot and parked in his usual spot. I grudgingly let go of him and got off the bike. People were looking in our direction and that surprisingly pushed my nerves away. I suppose they knew it was Emmett, but they were wondering who was on the bike with him. I pulled off the helmet and pulled my glasses out of my bag. Emmett took the helmet and we walked toward the main building. He picked up a handful of snow and sprinkled it over me. "The ice queen has arrived." He snickered and I hit him in the arm.

"Shut up." I mumbled and tried to ignore the stares we were getting. I could care less about the whispers and shocked looks _I_ was getting, it just annoyed me to know that they were probably saying stuff about Emmett too.

"Don't worry about them." He said when my face fell a little.

"Bella!" I looked around, trying to see the person calling me. "Over here!" Alice giggled and ran over, her boyfriend trailing behind her. The girls she was talking to shot glares in my direction then walked off.

"Look what I got." She handed me a newspaper and I gave her a puzzled look.

"Umm, thanks?" I said, unsure of what exactly I was thanking her for.

"Flip to page three." She rolled her eyes. I flipped to the page and saw ads for several apartments. Some were actually decent. "No need to thank me, I already know how wonderful I am." She said and took a few bows.

"I'm gonna go catch up with Edward. I'll meet up with you in second hour." Her boyfriend said and kissed her. "I'll see you at lunch Emmett . . . Bella." He said with a nod and took off.

"Alice, this is great." I said as I read over the information to see which apartment suited me best.

"I also happen to know a great furniture store that's doing a sale on Saturday, we can check it out and see if we can find anything you like." She said and smiled her creepy smile.

"Sounds great." Her smile got wider. She must want something. "Why are you smiling?"

"No reason; helping friends out of the goodness of my heart makes me smile." I didn't buy that for one second.

"Bull." She giggled.

"I was thinking that it would be kinda cool if you lived near me. The complex I live in has great apartments. I could even help you decorate." She said and batted her lashed extra hard. I didn't think she lived in an apartment.

"You live in an apartment?" I was a bit taken aback.

"Yup, kinda have to when you're dirt poor." She giggled.

"Oh." I didn't know what else to say.

"Do I not look poor enough for an apartment?" Emmett laughed and I remembered he was standing right next to us.

"No, you look pretty poor." He laughed and Alice laughed along.

How the heck is being poor funny? "Oh my god, you though I was some rich brat didn't you?" Alice accused, rightfully so, and I gasped.

"No. I just . . . I thought-" I was speechless.

"It's fine. People always assume since Jasper is loaded, his girlfriend must also be loaded. I mean, I'm not ass poor, but I'm poor. The apartments I live at are kinda big, I think you'll like it once you see for yourself."

"I'd feel a lot better knowing that you live near someone you know as opposed to total strangers." Emmett said and I nodded. He had a point. It sucks enough that I have to live alone, so it would help knowing that there's someone near I can talk to or call over when I get too hung up on thoughts of Phil. I wish everything that had to do with the bastard would just erase from my memory.

"There's also a grocery store and gas station just a few blocks away, which brings me back to the point that I can be your personal decorator." Alice threw in.

"I'll check it out after school. If I get a good place, you can go nuts; decorate till your little heart gives out." I said and she smiled.

"You won't regret it." The bell rang just as we walked into Novak's class. I smiled at Novak when he looked up at me but his eyes hardened and he turned back to his computer. What the hell is up with that? I'm going to talk to him about this later. He passed out a worksheet and gave the instructions.

"If you finish, turn it in and work on something else, if not, finish it for homework and turn it in tomorrow when you walk in." Novak said and went back to his seat. I went up to his desk and waited for him to look up; he didn't. I cleared my throat and waited; still nothing.

"Hey." I said and his head snapped up.

"What?" He asked harshly. What the heck is up with the third degree?

"What the hell's up your ass?" I grumbled and his gaze got colder.

"What do you want Miss Swan?" he asked through nearly gritted teeth.

"I was going to ask why you're being such a prick but I can see that my presence bothers you, so I'll go away now." Snapped and went back to my seat. I completed the stupid worksheet and slammed it onto his desk. A few people looked up, clearly wondering what the hell had gotten into me.

"If you're done turn in your worksheet before you leave. Miss Swan, I'd like to see you right after class." Novak said a few minutes before class ended.

"Yeah, well don't hold your breath." I said and grabbed my bag. Alice shot me a puzzled look and I shrugged. The bell rang and I got ready to leave.

"What's going on with you two?" She asked and looked over at Novak.

"Nothing."

"If we're going to be friends, you gotta stop shutting me out. I only want to help you." She said and I sighed. I felt bad because I knew she was only looking out for me.

"I'll fill you in at lunch." I said and she nodded. With that, she left. I was just about to leave when Novak cleared his throat. Emmett Laughed and waved.

"Don't get in too much trouble." He snickered.

"What?" I wasn't even going to play nice with Novak.

"What you said at the beginning of class was inappropriate." He crossed his arms.

"So, give me detention or write a referral or something. Anything that gets me out of standing here and acting like I give a rat's ass bout this conversation." I said and crossed my arms as well.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I didn't mean to snap at you earlier, I had a bad morning."

"Yeah, and I had a shitty week, but you don't see me taking my shit out on others." I grumbled.

"Don't be a brat, I'm trying to apologize."

"Well then quit _trying_ to apologize and actually do it." His eyes widened and he smirked.

"You know what; I don't owe you an apology. As far as I'm concerned, you're the cause of my pissy morning." Some nerve he has.

"I'm glad we've established that much, but as far as I'm concerned, you can go to hell." I turned and walked away at that point. "Asshole." I muttered and pushed past the students that were pouring into his class. What the hell have I done to piss him off? His ass was already pissed when I walked in this morning. Screw him, he can go to hell. Every class after that just pretty much worsened my mood. By the time lunch rolled around, I was so full of anger, I could cry; I wanted nothing more than to drop everything and run till I couldn't feel anything.

Alice cornered me in the hallway, just a few feet away from the cafeteria. "Ready to talk?"

"Sure, why not." At this point, I really felt like I had nothing to lose. I was too stressed and as much as I hate to admit it, I needed to talk to someone, preferably someone I can trust. I needed to say something, anything, to ease the pressure and blow some steam.

We went out to the baseball field and sat on the bleachers. I ended up telling her a lot more than I wanted to. I told her about the crappy childhood that led up to the crappy life I'm currently living. I told her about Phil and everything he did. I also told her about how much I hate not being able to fit in. I even told her about the countless nights I cried myself to sleep because I just didn't know what to do with myself; because I couldn't love myself like I should. She didn't say a word throughout the entire time I spoke. She just held my hand and urged me to let it out. I told her how much I hated being the weird girl. How much I hated the fact that I wasn't pretty like the other girls, I was so plain; the endless amount of time I spent in front of the mirror, picking myself apart. I finally told her about Phil coming back and my irrational decision to jump off the cliff.

"And the worst part is, I don't think anyone would have noticed I was gone if I had actually died that afternoon. Life would go on as if I never existed." I sobbed. All the hurt and self loathing I repressed was now spilling out.

"That's not true you know; if you were gone, _I_ would notice. Emmett and Jasper and your mom, they would notice too. And all the people in this school who envy you would notice." She said, a few tears slipping down her cheeks. Anyone envy me? Now that's rich. Fat chance of that ever happening. I felt a hand bigger than Alice's on my shoulder and I jumped. I turned to see Emmett and Jasper not too far from him.

I stiffened when I realized they might have heard what I said. Jasper's face wasn't as hard as usual; his face had softened a little and he was giving me a sympathetic look. I didn't want sympathy but somehow I think he knew that. Alice pulled me into a hug and I held onto her for dear life. I felt as if I'd be swallowed up by my problems if I let go of her, so I didn't. She ran her hands through my hair and comforted me. Emmett and jasper sat near us but said nothing. I was hit with a strange wave of relief when I stopped crying. It wasn't the kind of relief people feel in the movies; you know, the one where they feel as if everything is going to be okay and they will be able to move on from whatever they are experiencing. I felt the kind of relief that people feel in the real world; the one where you don't know what's going to happen, but you know that you'll be fine as long as you allow yourself time to heal and adjust.

"Let's go get cleaned up." Alice said and we went to the bathroom. Emmett and Jasper waited outside while Alice and I washed our faces and fixed our hair. "After we find you a place this weekend, you can come back to my place and I'll paint your nails. I have a color that will look fabulous on you." She said, pushing the recent mess behind us.

"Uh, sure." I wasn't quite sure what else to say; I've never had a friend, especially not one that wanted to paint my nails. When the bell rang, Alice promised to meet up in the parking lot after school then she and Emmett went to their class. I walked silently beside Jasper and looked straight forward. I wasn't that uncomfortable around him anymore; I mean, he's seen the part of me most people will never see and didn't judge me. "You're not plain at all. You're one of the most beautiful girls at this school; you rank somewhere near Alice." He said. I was shocked for a second.

"Thanks." I didn't know what to make of his comment. For the first time, Japer didn't sit in the back of the room, he sat near me. He stayed quiet for the most part, but it was still very kind of him. "I hate this class." I mumbled and he looked at me quizzically.

"Think of all the different ways you can kill Tanya Denali, it'll help pass the time." He said, shooting her daggers.

"I'll take a wild guess and say you don't like her." He nodded.

"The girl practically lives at my house. She and Rosalie are inseparable. I want to shoot myself every time she comes over." He said and shot daggers at Rosalie, his twin sister. I smiled a little and looked at Rosalie.

"Your sister is very pretty." She's probably just as shallow as Tanya though, I thought to myself. Of course I'm not better than all the other jerks, because I'm sitting here stereotyping her.

"Eh." He chuckled. "She's the least shallow of all her friends. I think you'll like her if you get to know her." I thought that over for the rest of the class period. Me and Rosalie Hale becoming friends? That's just as likely as me and Tanya becoming friends and that's never going to happen so there. When class was over, Jasper quietly walked me to my next class. "See you after school." He said and walked away when I nodded,

Once school was out, I slowly walked out to the parking lot to meet Emmett, Alice and Jasper. I got more stares than usual as I crossed the parking lot; I didn't let it bother me though. Emmett was leaning against his bike, waiting for me. "You okay?" He asked when I was directly in front of him.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I didn't really know if that was true or not, but I went with it. His eyes darkened at my answer and his hand came up to my face. His index finger slowly inched forward and swiftly slid across my cheek. His touch was feather light yet it left a blazing trail of warmth upon every inch of my skin that it made contact with. His now dark blue eyes gazed into my brown ones. He removed my glasses and again gazed into my eyes.

"I wish you could see how beautiful you are. I wasn't lying the day I met you when I said that you're the most beautiful girl I've ever met." He whispered with a sad smile and stroked my cheek once more. His touch sent shivers through my body.

"I'm not beautiful." I said so quietly that it was almost as if I hadn't said it. I didn't think he'd hear me.

His hands dropped back to his sides. "I'll prove you wrong." He said, putting my glassed in his bag and securing the helmet on my head. I sighed and tried to look anywhere but in his direction.

"Are we not waiting for Alice?" He started his bike and got on.

"We're meeting her at her place." I got on and he sped off. He pulled up to some very nice looking apartments. After parking, he led me up some stairs then knocked on a door. The door opened almost immediately, revealing a very vibrant Alice. She stepped aside and let us in. Her apartment wasn't at all what I imagined it would be; quite the opposite actually. The living room was big and nicely furnished. The color of the walls and furniture complimented each other nicely; her living room looked like the kinds of living room you only saw in magazines or on tv.

Jasper was lazily sprawled out on the couch, watching tv. Alice yanked me up as soon as I sat down. "You boys hang out in here while Bella and I go have a talk." She said and led me away. She pushed open a door and shoved me into a room which I assumed was hers. The walls were a light purple and her bedding was all light blue. The room wasn't enormous but it wasn't small either, it was the perfect size. She closed the door and pushed me over to the bed. I sat up in time to watch her reach under her bed and pull out tons of magazines.

She spread out the magazines and looked up at me. "I was thinking we should look through a few magazines to get ideas on how to decorate your new place."

"Alice, I don't even have a place yet. Don't you think I need an apartment before we start talking décor?" I asked and she shook her head.

"You'll have a place soon enough. The apartment just across the parking lot is vacant; let's go take a look, I know you'll love it."

"I thought we'd look over the weekend."

"Why wait, it's just right there." She said ad pointed out her window. I looked out the window and nodded.

"Okay, let's go have a look." She quickly grabbed my arm and nearly dragged me out of the apartment and down the stairs. She ran into the lobby to get someone to let us into the apartment. The apartment wasn't bad at all. I actually liked it, the kitchen was big enough to accommodate me and a few people, the living room was the same size as Alice's and there were two bedrooms. I could turn one into a work room. The bathroom was also a decent size. Living there would cost about $750 a month, water and electricity included. Not too bad I suppose.

"We could lifeguard at the local pool for some extra cash or work at the coffee shop across the grocery store." Alice said as we walked back to the lobby to get a lease form. I filled out the form and put down $400 as a down payment.

"You can move in whenever you'd like." The woman at the desk said and handed me a set of keys.

"I guess I'll move on Saturday." It's hardly a move, seeing as I barely have anything to move.

"Saturday morning we can go look for furniture and supplies. We'll get you stocked on food too so that when you do move in, you'll have everything.

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**A/N**: Aww, poor Bella is going to have to furnish her place and live alone. I hoped you liked the chap, I loved writing the scene where she's at the beach about to jump off the cliff; I almost felt as if I were the one jumping lol. Anywho, leave your thoughts in a review.


	4. Chapter 4

Hey guys! I know it's been a long time since I've updated either of my stories, but I was working out the whole plagiarism issue and now that it's resolved, I'm going to update both stories this weekend. Thanks for your patience and I hope you haven't lost interest :) Where the heart lies will be updated on Saturday and Chicken soup for my broken soul will be updated either Saturday night or Sunday afternoon


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** Hey guys! Its good to be back and writting :) Thanks for sticking with this story, I'll have Where the heart lies up either later tonight, or by early morning tomorrow :D Enjoy the chapter!

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Recap: We could lifeguard at the local pool for some extra cash or work at the coffee shop across the grocery store." Alice said as we walked back to the lobby to get a lease form. I filled out the form and put down $400 as a down payment.

"You can move in whenever you'd like." The woman at the desk said and handed me a set of keys.

"I guess I'll move on Saturday." It's hardly a move, seeing as I barely have anything to move.

"Saturday morning we can go look for furniture and supplies. We'll get you stocked on food too so that when you do move in, you'll have everything.

I didn't know whether to be relieved or terrified; I was officially on my own now. No more mom to fight with or to run to when I have no one else to talk to. I looked at Alice and forced a smile. I was excited just a while ago, but now that everything was official, it felt more real and I was scared shitless.

"I'm so excited to have you living so close to me Bella. We'll be total best friends. I can come sleepover and we can give each other makeovers and gossip about the evil snobs at school." Alice rambled and I nodded, trying to pay attention to what she was saying.

"Bella!" Alice yelled all the sudden.

"What?" I asked, pushing my eyebrows together in frustration.

"You're not listening to a single I'm saying." She accused and I immediately denied it.

"Of course I was listening." She rolled her eyes and linked her arm into mine. We walked back to her place, she talked and I listened.

As Emmett and I headed back to his house, I began to feel bad for getting an apartment. He and his family had been kind enough to let me stay with them and now I felt like I was snubbing them by up and leaving.

"We're going to miss the hell out of you." Emmett said as he pushed his bike into the garage. I didn't say anything in response. "Mom loves having you around, Marti too." He continued and I tried to give him a smile.

"I'll visit often. . . If you want me to." I quickly threw in and blushed when he chuckled.

"Of course I'd want you to visit." He said and put his arm around me. The house smelled great when we walked in. "What's burning?" Emmett teased his mom as we walked into the kitchen. She laughed and hit his shoulder.

"I'm a very good cook, thank you very much. How are you Bella?" She asked, pushing my hair away from my face.

"I'm alright. I uh-" I began to say but hesitated.

"What is it?"

"Alice helped me find an apartment. I'm really grateful to you for allowing me to stay here this entire time, but I don't want to impose and I have to get back on my feet if I'm going to move on." I practically mumbled through the whole sentence.

"Oh, honey you weren't imposing." She began and Emmett cut her off.

"That's what I was telling her." He said and I shot him a glare.

"I respect your choice, but just know that you're always welcome here honey." She said with a warm smile and I nodded. Why couldn't every parent be like her? Just then, Marty ran into the kitchen and threw herself into Emmett's arms. He laughed and spun her around, I would really miss them.

After we ate dinner, I took a shower and began to get ready for bed. A knock sounded from the bedroom door just as I began to pull the brush through my hair. "It's open." I called out and the door slowly opened. Emmett stuck his head in the partially opened door.

"Hope I didn't wake you up." He said. I shook my head and he walked in and closed the door behind him. He walked over to the bed and sat next to me. "Is there any way I can convince you to stay?" He asked and batted his lashes dramatically.

"No there isn't." I said and he frowned a little.

"Are you sure?" He asked, almost pleading.

"I'm positive." I said and moved closer.

"What if I sit super close to you?" He made his point by scooting even closer.

"No."

"What if I do this?" He said and brushed his index finger across my check.

"No." I whispered, my voice shaky and beginning to crack.

"What about this?" He asked and gently brushed his thumb across my bottom lip.

"No." I whispered against his thumb.

"And what if I did this?" He said and leaned forward. His face went to the crook of my neck and my breath hitched when I felt his lips on my collar. "Will this change your mind _then_ Bella?" He whispered, his cool breath tickling my neck.

"N-n no" I barely chocked out.

"Well what about this?" He said and grazed his teeth across my collar. I nearly lost it. My body was begging me to push him down and have my way with him but my brain was telling me to stop before this went any further; long story short, my body hates my brain right now. I could feel familiar warmth sneaking it's through my body. I couldn't utter a single word so I settled for shaking my head 'no'.

"What will it take for me to change your mind?" He whispered as he kissed up my jaw line. "I _really_ want to change your mind." I nearly melted when I felt the tip of his tongue on my ear. He traced the outer shell of my ear for a few seconds, then bit my earlobe. I gasped and pressed myself to him. He pulled back and smiled seductively. "What will change your mind?"

I wracked my brain for an answer but came up blank. I shrugged and he smiled. He got up and walked towards the door. I was just about to shout for him to stay but he reached for the light switched and flipped the lights off. The only light in the room now was coming from the street light outside. Emmett locked the door and pulled his shirt over his head.

He walked—quickly—back to the bed and stood in front of me. The small amount of light in the room, coming from outside, was making little shadows dance across his chest and abs. Even in the dark, his body left me speechless. He reached for my t-shirt but I stopped him. I didn't want him to see my pale and pasty body. He pushed me onto the bed until I was laying flat on my back. He got on the bed and crawled over me.

He leaned down until our lips were mere centimeters apart. My heart rate picked up and my breathing grew heavier. He brushed his lips lightly against mine and I saw stars. He pecked my lips a couple times, then initiated an actual kiss. His tongue darted out and licked my lips. As soon as I moaned, his tongue plunged into my mouth. I was in pure bliss and I wanted to stay like that forever. The kiss got more and more heated and I loved every second of it. His tongue swept over mine several times and I felt heat begin to build at my core.

His hand slipped up my shirt and caressed my stomach then brushed up and down my spine. My hand went straight to his hairs; I ran my fingers through his hair and pulled on it to urge him to kiss me harder. His lips left mine and worked their way down my jaw and straight to my neck. I panted, trying to catch my breath. I worked my hands down to his chest and let my fingers trace the muscles from his chest to his abs.

"My god, you're sexy." He said and bit my neck. I blushed a little and rolled my eyes. "You've got me so turned on right now." He groaned and I rolled my eyes again. He sighed and grabbed my hand. He moved my hand over to his crotch and rested it on the _huge _bulge there. My cheeks burned with embarrassment and want; I couldn't decide which feeling was more powerful. "That's all you baby, only you can get me this hard." He said seductively and bit down on another part of my neck.

My mouth immediately latched onto his, I had to have him in that instant. I pulled back for a second to yank off my shirt then went back to attacking his lips. I bit down—hard—on lip and he pulled back. "Woah there tiger." He said and licked his lips.

"I want you . . . now." I said and he looked into my eyes, searching for something, I don't know what. After looking into my eyes for a few seconds, he grabbed my shirt and handed it to me.

"Let's wait." He said and began to look for his shirt. My heart slowed down as he got up and put his shirt on. Why was he rejecting me?

"We should wait till you're ready." He said and nervously shoved his hands into his pockets. Ready for what? I nearly shouted. I sighed and he looked around for a bit.

"Goodnight." He said suddenly, kissed the top of my head and left. It was an awkward kiss, like an older brother kissing his little sister goodnight. After the door closed, I slammed my face into the pillow. I already knew I wasn't good enough for him, but I didn't think _he_ would come to that conclusion so soon.

I cried for so long I didn't know when I had fallen asleep. When I woke up in the morning, I felt like crap. My head was hurting like a bitch from all the crying I had done the night before. I looked over at the clock on the nightstand and nearly fell out of bed; it was almost noon and I was just now getting up. I took a quick shower and sent Alice a text.

_We need to talk ASAP! Pick you up in a bit._

_-B_

As I walked down the stairs, a huge part of me began wishing that Emmett wouldn't be downstairs. I hoped I wouldn't see him so that we wouldn't have to relive the awkward moment from the night before. No one was in the kitchen. There was a note on the fridge from Evelyn; _Taking Marti to Seattle for her dress, be back soon. _Just as I was turning to leave, Emmett came down the stairs, in nothing but his boxers, his hair in a complete mess.

"Hey." He said, rubbing the sleep away from his eyes.

"Hey." I mumbled back and made a bee line for the door. "See you later." I said and walked out. I practically ran to my car and jumped in. In the corner of my eye I saw Emmett looking at me through the living room window. I pretended not to see him and sped off. My phone buzzed twice, alerting me I had unread text messages.

I picked it up and opened the inbox; one new message from Alice and two new messages from Caroline. I opened Alice's text first.

_Well good morning to you too sunshine  
I'll be waiting so hurry up :)_

_-A_

As I was pulling into Alice's apartment complex, I saw her jumping up and down, waving her arms over her head; she looked like she was completely drunk and trying to do jumping jacks. I giggled and honked twice. She ran over with a huge smile; how the hell is she always cheerful?

"Hello sexy lady. Mind if I hitch a ride?" She said, rubbing her neck seductively and trying to hold back giggles.

"I don't know, I don't usually pick up strangers." I said and as she jumped in.

"You said we had to talk, what's going on?" She asked, strapping on her seatbelt.

"Emmett." I said, keeping my eyes on the road.

"Ooh la-la! I like where this is going." She said in a sing-song voice.

"He totally came onto me last night, and just when things were getting hot, he says we gotta wait then gets up and leaves!" I said, frustration pouring out of me like a fountain.

"What?" Alice shrieked. "Why would he do that?"

"I don't know. To make matters worse, after he put on his shirt, he stood around awkwardly for a bit then kissed me on head. On the freaking head like we were related." I was trying to focus on the road but my frustration kept getting in the way.

"I'm going to kick his ass all the way to China!" She shrieked and whipped out her cell phone. She dialed Emmett's number and held the phone to her ear. I quickly snatched it and hung up.

"Are you nuts! He can't know that I told you!" I said with a glare. "Just let it go and don't say a thing to him."

"I'm not going to keep quiet about this." She said, glaring back at me.

"Alice, please. You can't say anything to him; it's bad enough that I practically died of embarrassment when I saw him this morning." I pleaded and she sighed dramatically.

"Fine, but I'm telling Jaz. If I can't give Emmett the cold shoulder, Jasper will." She said with a satisfied smile. I rolled my eyes and let it go.

"My mom texted me." I changed the subject.

"What did _it_ want?" She said, with extra emphasis on the 'It'.

I smiled a little and shrugged. "I didn't read it." Before the phrase was fully out of my mouth, Alice had my phone and was reading the texts.

"It says it misses you and you should come home and talk things out." She said and paused for a while. "The second text says that it isn't very happy that you took money from its bank account." Alice rolled her eyes and mumbled something under her breath.

"What? I can't understand you when you mumble."

"I said she's a bitch and she needs to leave you alone." She said and deleted the texts. "Are you going to see her?"

"No. Not anytime soon."

Shopping for furniture wasn't the pain in the ass I thought it was going to be, it was actually kind of . . . fun. We tested every single couch before we settled on which two to buy, then we rolled around in every bed until we found the perfect one, then we inspected every dresser and vanity table until we found the perfect ones to go with the bed.

Some of the furniture was expensive, but with Alice's fabulous bargaining skills, we were able to get them to knock the prices down a little. After paying for the bedroom furniture and couches, we looked at TVs and tables. After TVs and tables, we went to look at clothes.

"How about this one? Does it make me look fat?" Alice asked and spun around in the white sundress. It looked great on her.

"Are you kidding, you've got a body to die for. You look great. After trying on tons on clothes, Alice dragged me over to the handbags, after handbags, she dragged me over to the shoes.

"Here, try these on." She said and handed me a pair of silver heels.

"Are you trying to get me to break my neck?" I asked and put the shoes down.

"Heels aren't too bad Bella, just try them." I gave in and put them on, they weren't that bad until I stood up to walk around. I tripped over my feet several times. When I ran into a shirt rack and nearly killed myself, I decided I'd had it whit the heels. I sat down and yanked them off. Alice on the other hand looked great in her heel and was strutting around like a model on the runway.

"I hate you and your ability to walk in the deathtraps." I said and tried on another pair, this time I didn't get up to see if I could walk in time, I knew where that would lead. Alice smile and eyed another pair of shoes.

"Bella, I wasn't born knowing how to walk in heel, practice makes perfect." She said and spun around to make a point. "I'll teach you if you want."

I thought it over for a second and nodded. "Okay, but if I break something, I'm calling it quits." I said and she laughed. Alice and I each grabbed our stack of clothes and shoes and hauled them to the register. When the cashier rang up Alice's items, Alice nearly had a fit.

"What the hell? The sign outside says everything is 45% off. Now unless the sign is lying I'm sure you've added this up wrong." She said.

"The sign is old; we're not having a sale. Your total is 423 dollars and 62 cents." The woman said, as if she hadn't heard Alice's rant.

"Listen lady, do I look like I'm made out of money or something? If the sign is old then take it down! I wouldn't have come in here if I'd known you weren't having a sale!" Alice threw her hands up in frustration.

"Well, if you're not buying all this stuff, you gotta put them back where they belong." The lady said and turned to me. "That goes for you too." She snapped at me and popped her gum.

"You bitch! Does it look like we work here? It's not our job to put the clothes back on their hanger and the shoes in their place." I snapped. I hadn't lost my edge. I smiled and gave myself a mental high five and a pat on the back. I shoved me stuff in her direction. "Ring it all up and add it to her stuff." I said and nudged my head in Alice's direction. The lady huffed and puffed the entire time she was ringing up my stuff.

"Your total is 943 dollars and 26 cents." She said, her face as sour as a lemon. I waved my credit card at her and she practically snatched it. She slid the card and handed it back. "Enter your pin number." She said and practically threw the pin pad at me. I punched in my pin and threw the pad back at her. Alice grabbed money out of her wallet and handed it to me.

"Here, I'll pay you back the rest when I have more money." I pushed her hand away.

"Keep it, this isn't a loan, it's a friend buying another friend a few things." I said with a smile. "Caroline would be highly offended if we didn't blow her money." I said sarcastically and Alice laughed. We grabbed our bags and threw the cashier a last glare, before going back to my car.

"I love you Bella! You stuck it to her good!" Alice laughed as we shoved the bags into the car.

"I try." I said with a satisfied smile. "Wanna grab a bite to eat? My furniture doesn't get delivered for another hour."

"Sure, but I'll pay." She said and got in. We went some restaurant at the far end of Seattle and I ordered steak and fries. Alice got steak and a salad. She of course brought up Emmett and asked for me to give her a detailed explanation of what had happened and so I did.

"Maybe he got scared." Alice said with a shrug.

"Oh yeah, I feel a whole lot better now that I know that I scared off the guy I'm majorly crushing on." I said and Alice sighed apologetically.

"That's not how I meant it Bella."

"I know."

"Well if Emmett wants to be a jerk then you can give him the cold shoulder or make him jealous."

"What do you mean?"

"Flirt with Mr. Novak." She said and I choked on my food.

"Are you insane? Why on Earth would I flirt with him?" I nearly yelled.

"What? It's not like you haven't done it before. I've seen you talk to him." She said and narrowed her eyes accusingly.

"Don't give me that look, I don't like Danny like that, he's our teacher for crying out loud!" _Our very hot teacher that just so happens to get me riled up at just the right times. _I wanted to say that out loud but kept it to myself.

"Danny? Since when are you on a first name basis with him?"

"Since never. Let's get going, my furniture should arrive soon." I changed the subject and got up. She paid for our food and we left. She questioned me about Mr. Novak the whole ride back to Fork, but I said nothing. The furniture was delivered soon after we arrived; delivery guys took it all up to my apartment and I paid them for their help.

"Let's get cracking." Alice said. We changed into shorts and t-shirts and began to haul the furniture around to where it would look best. When the cable guy showed up to set up the tv and cable, Alice helped me put my bed together. "This would be a hell of a lot easier if Emmett was here." She mumbled and I glared at her.

"Just push harder."

When the cabled guy had the tv set up I nearly jumped into his arms. I was so thankful to have my own cable, I could kiss him. "Thank you!" I said and tipped him. After several hours of pushing, pulling, hauling and lifting, we were finally done. "Home sweet home." I wheezed out.

"You can say that again." Alice said and collapsed into the couch. We laid there for at least half an hour before I got up.

"Come with me to the grocery store?" I asked and she nodded.

"Yea but let's stop by my place and see if my mom needs anything from the store." We went to her apartment and I met her mom and dad.

"Mom, Dad, this is my best friend Bella. Best friend Bella, this is my mom Esme and my dad Carlisle." Alice introduced and I shook hands with both her mom and dad.

"It's very nice to meet you Bella." Esme said.

"Likewise."

"Alice goes on and on about you." Carlisle teased, earning a shove from Alice.

"We're going to the store, do you need anything?" Alice asked.

"No, but thank you darling. Have dinner with us sometime Bella." Esme said and I nodded.

Alice grabbed my arm and practically dragged me to the door. When we got to the grocery store, the first place we went to was the ice cream isle. We grabbed three tubs of ice cream and moved on other isles. After paying for all the food we headed out, but because god hates me for some reason, I saw Emmett walking towards us.

I wanted to run, but he had already spotted us. "Hey." He said when was within earshot.

"Hey." I said awkwardly and he looked down for a second.

"Can we talk for a minute?" He asked. When I nodded, he pulled me off to the side. Alice rolled her eyes and sighed loudly. "I'm sorry about last night."

"Its fine, I'm over it." I lied and he chuckled.

"It's understandable if you're mad." He said

"I'm not mad; I've got better things to worry about that don't include crying over a boy who led me on." I said and pushed past him.

"Bella wait."

"Just leave me alone Emmett." I said and kept on walking. I joined Alice and pushed the shopping cart to the car. We loaded up the stuff and I drove off.

"What's he say?" Alice asked as I pulled into our apartment complex.

"He wanted to apologize for last night, but I'm still bitter. I think I should wait till I'm not hurting to talk to him." I said and Alice nodded.

"I still think you should try your luck with Mr. Novak. Who knows, maybe if you play your cards right, you'll end up together." She smiled.

"Or he'll end up in jail and be an embarrassment to the entire town." I said. As much as I would enjoy being with Danny, it's just not happening.

"You're exaggerating. Who else would know besides you and me? All we'd have to do is keep our lips sealed. And plus you're not a minor so he wouldn't go to jail, if push goes comes to shove, he'll only lose his job."

"I doubt he sees his job as _only_ what would he do if he got fired?"

"You're no fun Bella. A little flirting never killed anyone." She said with a swift roll of her eyes. Alice went home after we put my groceries away. I changed into my pajamas and sat in my bed. My bed, my apartment. I laid back and turned off the bedside lamp. I was more tired than I realized; I fell asleep as soon as my eyes closed.

I woke up to sunlight streaming in through my window. I realized that for the first time ever, I could stay in bed for however long I wanted, I could do whatever the hell I wanted and no one could say a single thing about it. I grinned and went to shower. After my shower, I wrapped myself in a towel and went to make coffee. I had the whole damn place to myself; I could walk around bare ass naked if I wanted to. That thought made me smile a HUGE smile. After having my coffee, I went back to bed and slept for another two hours. When I woke up, I got dressed and got caught up on my homework. I called Alice to see if she wanted to come over but her mom said she was out with Japer and had left her phone at home. I watched tons of sappy movies—Dear John, A Walk to Remember, Flirting with Forty, and some movie called Twilight (lol)—so I wouldn't feel alone, but by the end of my movie marathon I was feeling more alone than before.

By late afternoon I was beyond bored so I grabbed my laptop, got on YouTube and watched videos of girls doing their makeup. After watching several makeup videos, I went to the store to buy some makeup to imitate some of the looks that stood out to me.

I placed my laptop on the vanity table and faced the mirror. The first few times I applied the makeup, I looked like a clown. After a few more tries though, I got the hang of it. I put on one of the pair of heels I had bought today and practiced walking around the apartment. I fell so many times, I began to lose track. Walking in heels was beyond difficult, but after an hour or so, I could almost walk in a straight line.

After eating dinner, I passed out on the couch. I woke up later on in the night and dragged myself to my room. I set my alarm for 6 am and went to bed.

The shrill ringing of the alarm pulled me out of a dreamless sleep. I took a quick shower and washed my hair. I left my hair down so it could dry. While my hair dried, I ate breakfast; a bagel and some tea. For the first time since I started high school, I put on a skirt and heels. I didn't want to go all out so I topped of the black mini skirt with a black tank top. I then did my makeup; eyeliner as usual, but I added on some ruby red lipstick to go with the red heels. I dabbed on just a bit of foundation, topped off with a smudge of blush.

I put hairspray in my hair and pulled it back into a tight bun. I looked good for once; a bit sexy but still sophisticated. I rummaged through my backpack and found the bracelet Mr. Novak had given me for my birthday. Once I had the bracelet on, I grabbed my tea and was out the door. I walked in slow, even strides so I wouldn't fall and embarrass myself. I knocked on Alice's front door and waited for a reply.

"Whoa baby! I'll be damned, you look hot!" Alice yelled in shock.

"Not slutty?" she shook her head.

"Of course not, you look amazing." She said, still shocked. "Bye mom!" She yelled over her shoulder and closed the door. She was wearing tight black jeans, a well fitter white blouse and while flats.

"I hate you. You make looking pretty look so effortless." I said and she grinned. When we got to school, we stayed in the car and chit chatted until we saw Jasper. Alice spotted him, over by the front of the school, laughing with Emmett and three other guys. We walked and interrupted their laughter.

"Hey guys." Alice chirped cheerfully and went to Jasper's side.

"Damn." Emmett muttered. "You look . . . great." He said and I smiled.

"Thanks."

"Geez Bella, you're going to have every guy within a 20 mile radius chasing you down." Jasper said and I blushed furiously.

"Shut up." I muttered and gave Alice a look. "I have to go see Mr. Novak and see if he'll accept my late assignments." I said and Alice winked. I rolled my eyes and turned to leave. Emmett started to say something but stopped.

"I'm Edward, nice to meet you Bella." The guy standing next to Emmett said with a smile and held out his hand for me to shake. I hesitated for a second then shook his hand. Isn't he Rosalie's boyfriend?

"It's nice to meet you too Edward." I said and he smiled.

"So I hear you're single."

"I have to get going." I said and walked off as fast as I could without tripping over my heals and snapping my neck. Once I was far away from them, I slowed down and caught my breath. As I got closer and closer to Novak's room, the argument we had, last time I saw him, ran through my mind

***Flashback***

"What you said at the beginning of class was inappropriate." Novak said and crossed his arms.

"So, give me detention or write a referral or something. Anything that gets me out of standing here and acting like I give a rat's ass bout this conversation." I said and crossed my arms as well.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I didn't mean to snap at you earlier, I had a bad morning."

"Yeah, and I had a shitty week, but you don't see me taking my shit out on others." I grumbled.

"Don't be a brat, I'm trying to apologize."

"Well then quit _trying_ to apologize and actually do it." His eyes widened and he smirked.

"You know what; I don't owe you an apology. As far as I'm concerned, you're the cause of my pissy morning." Some nerve he has.

"I'm glad we've established that much, but as far as I'm concerned, you can go to hell." I turned and walked away at that point. "Asshole." I muttered and pushed past the students that were pouring into his class.

***End Flashback***

What the hell had I done to piss him off? His ass was already pissed when I walked in that morning. I just hoped he wouldn't still be angry. I didn't knock on his door; I just walked in and took my seat. He wasn't there yet so I pulled out a random book from my bag and began to read. I was reading but my brain wasn't registering a single thing from the book. When the classroom door opened and Novak walked in, I pretended to be focused on my book. He shuffled around noisily; getting his lesson plans ready, but said nothing to me.

I felt his eyes bore into me for quite a long time, but I didn't dare look up, let alone say anything to him. "Bella." He said, his voice not too loud. I didn't answer; I kept right on pretending to be interested in my book. He got up and walked over to the desk in front of me and leaned against it. "I apologize for my behavior towards you last week. I was completely out of line." He said, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

I looked up at him with a blank face. "I'm over it." I responded. He said nothing for a while; all he did was stare at me.

"You don't understand how hard this is for me." He said and I frowned.

"Since when do you have it hard? What goes around comes around, jerk" I said and he stayed quiet for a minute or two.

"You're the most beautiful yet frustrating woman I've ever known." He said and went back to his desk. I smiled a little. Was that a compliment?

"Yeah? Well you're the most aggravating man I've ever met." He stopped and turned around in real slow motion. He walked back over to me and leaned against the same desk from before. When I looked up at him, he was staring intently. "Your eyes are beautiful." I said, pulling him out of his thoughts. I thought for a second that I saw a light blush cover his cheeks. He quickly mumbled a "thanks" and turned away.

I got up and walked after him. "Hey, wait up." Had I really made him blush? When I grabbed his hand, he jerked it away, but not before I felt a slight tingle go up my arm.

"What do you want?" He said, very frustrated. Again with his mood swings.

"Never mind!" I snapped and turned to walk away.

"I'm sorry; I don't know why I get so frustrated with you." He said and that only flared my anger.

"Screw you!" I said, not even turning back to face him.

"That came out wrong." He said. "I'm sorry."

"Shut up and go away. Just leave me—" Before I could finish the sentence, he spun me around and I was all too aware of his soft, warm lips, gently pushing against mine. All the anger left my body and this heat I'd never felt before rushed into its place. I grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him closer.

His hands went to my hair and yanked my bun free. His finger ran through my hair and he kissed me as if his life depended on it. The kiss was beyond amazing, but it ended all too soon when he pulled away.

"Oh god, I shouldn't have done that." He said, backing away and trying to catch his breath.

My anger was back once more. "What is it with guys kissing me and announcing how they wished they hadn't?" I yelled at him.

"Bella I said I shouldn't have, not that I wished I didn't." He said, his voice barely audible. "I deeply apologize; I've violated our teacher-student relationship."

"That's not the only thing you violated." I said jokingly and he frowned' he must have thought I was serious. "I'm only kidding. Don't feel bad; after all, it does take two to tango." That didn't cheer him up one bit.

"This was beyond inappropriate of me." He mumbled and walked back towards his desk.

"Look, you're not a perv or a pedophile and I'm not a minor. I certainly wanted you to kiss me; I didn't dress like this just for the hell of it." I said and he looked a bit more at ease, not completely but better than before.

"Still Bella, I shouldn't have put you in such a compromising position."

"Take me back to your place and I'll show you _all_ the compromising positions you can put me in." I said and he coughed. He shot me a frown and I smiled innocently.

"Don't say that."

"But isn't that what you want? It sure is what I want." I didn't know where that confidence was coming from and I sure as hell wouldn't try to figure it out; I'd use it while it was still there. "Think of all the fun we could have."

"Bella, we can't do this. I'm sorry for pulling you into this mess."

I continued as if I hadn't heard a word he said. "I'll be the naughty student and you can be the teacher." I went over and stood behind him. I bent down till I was by his ear. "You can give me detention to straighten me out . . . or bend me over; whatever turns you on." I whispered and he nearly shot out of his seat.

"Let's not do this." He said, straightening his tie. I knew he wanted thins and I'd be damned if I'd let him walk away from it.

"Ok, I'll stop." I said and went back to my desk. I stared down at my hands—trying to figure out how to break his resolve— until the bell rang. Novak ran his hands through his hair, attempting to make himself presentable, as people noisily walked in and took their seats. Alice took the seat right next to mine and looked at me expectantly.

"He kissed me but now regrets having done so." I said and went back to looking at my hands.

"That's alright, you don't need him anyway." Alice said, trying to cheer me up. I didn't bother looking in Emmett's direction when he sat down. Novak was uncomfortable the entire class time; we were discussing a story about an adolescent girl that peruses a relationship with a friend of her father's.

"It's downright disgusting; the guy is like in his late forties." Tanya said and made a gagging noise. "I personally think the pedophile should have been locked up."

"What do you think Alice?" Novak asked, practically rolling his eyes at Tanya's typical answer.

"Well despite the fact that Genevieve is only 17, she's very mature. George wasn't that old either; barely in his mid thirties, so I personally think it's romantic. If I was in Genevieve's place and just as in love with George as she was, I'd have done the same thing. Age is nothing but a number and I wouldn't let it stand in the way of being with the person I love." She answered and nudged me slightly. "Being in a sexual relationship with an older person shouldn't be a crime as long as it's consensual on both sides and the younger person understands what they're doing, wouldn't you agree Bella?"

I shot her a glare and nodded. "Yeah, sure."

"And on that note, we'll end this discussion. No homework tonight, just sit tight and talk quietly amongst yourselves till the bell rings." Novak said and went to his desk.

"Bella, would you get me the box of tissue?" Alice asked, tilting her head back. "I think I feel a nosebleed coming on. I immediately went to grab the tissue. Alice got up and followed me. I handed her a few Kleenex and she held them to her nose. "Thanks Bel." As we walked back to our seats, Alice purposely knocked over the pencil box on Novak's desk. "Whoops, looks like you'll have to bend over and pick that up Bella." She whispered with a sly grin.

"I hate you." I mouthed to her as she walked away. I shot daggers at her when she had her back to me and bent over to pick up the pencils. I heard a sharp intake of breath behind me and turned to see Novak looking very uncomfortable. When I caught the look on his face, I realized why Alice had knocked over the pencils; she wanted me to give Novak a chance to check me out.

I winked at him and went back to picking up the pencils. I put them all back in the box and set the box on the desk. I faced his desk and looked at him. I didn't have anything sexy left to say so I wracked my brain for things I'd heard women say to me in movies. "Say the words and I'll show you a good time." I purred and licked my lips. "A very good time."

Hoping I hadn't smeared my lipstick and embarrassed myself, I turned and walked back to my desk. I listened to Emmett and Alice talk and occasionally threw in a sentence or two. Every few minutes I would catch Novak staring at me, and I would hold his gaze until he would look away.

When class was over, he looked more than relieved to see me go; that hurt a little.

* * *

**A/N:** I hope you liked the chapter, again i will have Where the heart lies updated later tonight or early tomorrow. Leave a review to tell me if you liked it or hated it or wanted to gag lol. Constructive criticism is always welcome :) Thanks you all!


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